New global Covid-19 test will give results 'in minutes'

Geneva : Lengthy gaps between tests and results foil the very attempt to control Covid-19 spread.

Now a new test could diagnose infection in minutes, expanding the capacity to detect cases especially in low- and middle income countries, according to the World Health Organisation( WHO).

This $5 test could transform tracking of Covid-19 in  countries that face shortages of healthcare workers and laboratories.

The "new, highly portable and easy-to-use test" will provide results in 15-30 minutes instead of hours or days, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference on Monday.

The WHO's head called it a major milestone.A deal with manufacturers will provide 120 million tests over six months, reports IANS. 

In countries with high infection rates, including India and Mexico, experts have said that low testing rates are disguising the true spread of their outbreaks.

Drugs manufacturers Abbott and SD Biosensor have agreed with the charitable Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to produce 120 million of the tests, Tedros explained.

The deal covers 133 countries, including many in Latin America which is currently the region hardest-hit by the pandemic in terms of fatality and infection rates.

"This is a vital addition to their testing capacity and especially important in areas of high transmission," Tedros added.

"This will enable the expansion of testing, particularly in hard-to-reach areas that do not have laboratory facilities or enough trained health workers to carry out tests," he said.

With inputs from IANS