ICMR issues advisory for use of Feluda paper strip test
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued an advisory for the use of indigenously developed Feluda paper strip test, which is based on CRISPR-Cas9 technology for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, by laboratories. The paper-strip uses cutting-edge CRISPR gene-editing technology to identify and target the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in less than an hour. As claimed by the manufacturer, no further RT-PCR based confirmation is required for samples that are confirmed as positive or negative by the CRISPR SARS-CoV-2 test, the advisory issued on Thursday stated. The test has been developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's (CSIRs) Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi, and has been validated by the National Centre for Biological Sciences and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. The test has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for use in the country. "The test works b...