07
Dec
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently approved the dry swab direct RT-PCR method which is faster and more convenient than the existing gold standard Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. The method has been devised by a team of researchers from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). The dry swab method is a modification of the RT-PCR test by cutting down a few steps. For RT-PCR, nasal swabs are collected and transported in a tube containing the viral transport medium (VTM) to ensure the stability of the viruses. However, the dry swab method developed by…