The Center had procured 5 lakh kits from two Chinese companies – Wondfo Biotech and Livzon Diagnostic and distributed among the states.But after several state governments complained of inaccurate results, the kits were tested by the ICMR, following which they asked the states to stop future procurement and use of the ones distributed earlier.

Wondfo, one of the major global suppliers of rapid testing kits for coronavirus, said that it had received an import licence from India on  20 March. Wondfo SARS-CoV-2 anti-body test (lateral flow method) has been exported to more than 70 countries and total shipment volume has reached 18 million tests, the company said. The shipment to Brazil, Spain, Indonesia and Venezuela were as huge as 1 million tests per country.

The other company, Livzon Diagnostics, also issued a similar statement. It said that the kits were approved by China NMPA on 14 March. They had been used in hundreds of hospitals in China and received good feedback. The test kits had been supplied to more than 10 countries, including, Brazil, Nigeria, Peru, Columbia, apart from the EU.

ICMR, India’s nodal body monitoring Covid-19 in India, has asked the state governments to return the rapid antibody test kits. Beijing has now expressed concern and questioned the handling of the kits. ICMR has said that the rapid antibody tests showed a wide variation in results, which is against the assurances given by the manufacturers. States have been advised to return the kits to these companies.

The ICMR recently halted rapid testing for corona virus cases because of massive variation in test results.  “As we got complaints from some states about the inaccuracy of the test results, we spoke with two more states and found major variations. In some places, it is 6% while in others it is 71%,” said Raman R Gangakhedkar, head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at ICMR on Tuesday.

While questioning India on the handling of the kits, the Chinese embassy also reminded New Delhi of the help being extended by Beijing in handling the corona virus crisis.

“China not only sincerely supports India in its fight against Covid-19, but also takes concrete actions to help. The quality of medical products exported from China is prioritized. It is unfair and irresponsible for certain individuals to label Chinese products as “faulty” and look at issues with preemptive prejudice,” she said.