Thiravat Hemachudha, head of the Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Disease Health Science Centre, on Friday threw his support behind the use of rapid test kits to screen people for Covid-19 infection.
His call for the use of rapid test kits came after a spike in Covid-19 transmissions brought on by illegal border crossings.
According to Dr Thiravat, rapid test kits, which detect antibodies and give a diagnosis with initial screening taking only 10-15 minutes, can fill the gap when screening large numbers of people for Covid-19.
"Rapid test kits are deemed as an alternative when screening a large number of people for Covid-19 risks such as those passing through border checkpoints, people attending public events or patients who need emergency care or life-saving procedures," he wrote on Facebook.
He said that rapid test kits can also be used for people under quarantine. Those who test positive will be required to take PCR tests to determine if their cases are active and can spread the virus.
"An advantage of rapid test kits is that we don't have to take deep nasal swabs from everyone during quarantine. The procedure involves risks and health personnel are at risk during the sample collection," he wrote.
One of rapid test kits in Thailand is the "Chula Covid-19 Strip Test" produced by Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. It has been available since March and it is a finger-prick blood test that uses the serology method. The kit can detect antibodies in blood serum or plasma within 15 minutes.
Dr Thiravat also said Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Medicine will on Monday launch a campaign to raise funds for Team Thailand's research and development of Covid-19 vaccines, which are vital to bringing the pandemic under control.
He said the university will also sign an agreement on vaccine research with the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation, Baiya Phytopharm and KinGen Biotech on the same day. The signing will be observed by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Minister of Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Anek Laothamatas.
