MMA calls for immediate audit on COVID-19 test kits by MOH

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has urged the Health Ministry (MoH) to conduct an immediate and followed by regular audit, on the quality of all the COVID-19 RTK Antigen test kits available in the market.

Its president Prof Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said there are about 17 types of RTK Antigen test kits approved by the Medical Device Authority (MDA) but not all have the acceptable quality.

He said MMA has been receiving complaints from a number of practitioners over some of the RTK Antigen test kits used for COVID-19 screening, in which some of these kits failed to detect positive cases.

"We are deeply concerned as false negatives in test results can also lead to further spread of COVID-19 in the community. The quality of RTK Antigen kits is paramount for the practitioner to pick up positive cases.

"Also of great concern among practitioners is the efficacy of the RTK Antigen test kits in detecting the newer variants, hence, updates on its efficacy are urgently needed as there have been reports of the newer variants in the country," he said in a statement, here today.

The MMA also suggested that there should also be a proper platform online for practitioners to issue complaints on any issues encountered when using the test kits.

Aside from that, MMA is also concerned over the lack of transparency on the approval process of the saliva test kits and hoped there are no middlemen taking advantage of the COVID-19 situation through commercialisation of the test kits or to monopolise the market.

-- BERNAMA