Dr. Zafrullah tests ‘positive’ for coronavirus

Founder of Bangladesh’s first health center and hospital, Gonoshasthaya Kendra, Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury on Monday said he was diagnosed with coronavirus, reports United News of Bangladesh.

Chowdhury told reports that he was tested with Rapid Dot Blot kit developed by Gonoshasthaya Kendra at its laboratory on Sunday and found positive for the virus.

“I underwent antigen test with our kit and the result was positive,” he said.

Zafrullah said he will also undergo an antibody test on Tuesday.

He said he is currently in isolation in a separate room at his Dhanmondi residence.

Meanwhile, Gonoshasthaya Kendra postponed its plan to collect samples of 50 patients for the test with GR Covid-19 kit at the request of Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA)

Earlier on Wednesday, Gonoshasthaya Kendra submitted 200 samples of Rapid Dot Blot kits, developed by the organisation for coronavirus test, to the authorities of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) to conduct the performance study.

Earlier on April 30, the DGDA gave Gonoshasthaya the permission to get its Covid-19 rapid testing kits tested.

On May 2, the BSMMU authorities formed a six-member committee to conduct the performance study of the testing kits as the organisation approached the country’s premier medical university.

On April 25, Gonoshasthaya Kendra authorities handed over their testing kits to the BSMMU and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the final approval.

Gonoshasthaya Kendra has developed the “easy, effective and cheap” method to test for coronavirus or Covid-19.

Gonoshasthaya-RNA Biotech Limited, a sister concern of Gonoshasthaya, developed the method named ‘Gonoshasthaya Rapid Dot Blot.’

On March 17, Gonoshasthaya Kendra declared that they had developed a testing kit that can examine samples to detect Covid-19 within 15 minutes.

Kamruzzaman