Zambo Covid labs lack RNA extraction kits

‘Shortage due to spike in coronavirus, delays test results’

THE LACK or unavailability of RNA extraction kit and the increasing number of Covid-19 specimens from other provinces and Zamboanga City have caused delay in the results of laboratory tests.

The RNA extraction kit is used concurrently with the Real-time Reverse Transcriptase (RT-PCR) test kits which extracts RNA from the samples. This is one of the several steps in the complex procedures in testing Covid-19 swabs.

Dr. Justine Paber, a spokesman for the Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC) - which operates the Genexpert - and the Department of Agriculture (DA) laboratories, explained that the number of specimens to be tested for Covid-19 has dramatically increased and attributed the increase to patients coming

from nearby provinces. He said aside from the bulk of specimens for testing, the DA RT-PCR machine, which could run 186 tests a day is now being operated manually the past days due to the unavailability of extraction kits, thus, the facility can only run 130 tests a day.

Paber added that the Genexpert machine at the ZCMC could run 16 tests every 2 hours or 96 tests daily. “Just the same, the machine’s capacity could not match the bulk of specimens to be tested every day,” he said.

The Genexpert is a technology that revolutionized TB molecular diagnostic testing and is capable of running tests for multiple diseases.

Dr. Dennis Dacayanan, of the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) of the Department of Health, confirmed Paber’s statement on the delayed laboratory test results.

He said the RESU conducts surveillance on 26 “notifiable diseases”, including Covid-19, and in Zamboanga City the numbers of Covid-19 positive cases have increased way beyond the daily test capacity of two laboratories here.

A notifiable disease is any disease that is required by law to be reported to government authorities.

Coronavirus cases spiked in many areas after the national government allowed the return of thousands of stranded persons (LSIS) and overseas Filipino workers (OFWS), and even deportees (ROF) from Sabah, to their places of origin as part of the “Balik-probinsya” program introduced by Senator Bong Go.

Zamboanga now has nearly 300 active Covid cases and more than 200 in the Muslim autonomous region and the Philippines’ active cases are nearing 50,000, according to the Department of Health.

“As we have all anticipated, the opening of commercial flights, the entry of local stranded individuals and returning overseas Filipinos, and the easing of restrictions will put the city at greater risk for illnesses due to Covid-19,” said Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco. “We need the support and cooperation of everybody in fighting the spread of Covid-19.”

Climaco said residents should all the more be compliant of quarantine guidelines and follow the minimum health standards. “Strict compliance of the guidelines and the minimum health standards should be a personal responsibility of each and every resident of the city,” she said. (Zamboanga Post and Mindanao Examiner)