Zafrullah found COVID-19 positive in BSMMU RT-PCR test

A RT-PCR test at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) found Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Zafrullah Chowdhury positive for coronavirus.

“I got the BSMMU test report today (Thursday). They also found me positive for the virus. I was tested positive four days ago with the testing kit developed by Gonoshasthaya Kendra,” he told UNB.

He said his sample was collected by BSMMU on Wednesday for COVID-19 RT-PCR test.

Zafrullah said his condition is now better, but he feels tiredness.

He first underwent antigen test with the kit developed by the Gonoshasthaya Kendra on Sunday as he was suffering from fever and the result was positive.

The Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder also got an antibody test using the Gonoshasthaya’s kit on Tuesday, and got positive result.

Meanwhile, Zafrullah was administered with 200ml of O+ blood at Gonoshasthaya Kendra Nagar Hospital on Tuesday afternoon following a regular kidney dialysis.

Zafrullah said he was informed by the Prime Minister’s Office that a cabin has been booked for him at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. “I told them that I’d receive treatment at home.”

On 17 March, Gonoshasthaya Kendra declared that they had developed a testing kit that can examine samples to detect COVID-19 within 15 minutes, but the kit was still not approved by the authorities concerned.

Gonoshasthaya Kendra recently submitted 200 samples of Rapid Dot Blot kits, devolved by the organisation for coronavirus test, to the BSMMU authorities to conduct the performance study. The results of the test are yet to be published.

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

The DGDA informed Gonoshasthaya that the performance study of the kits could be done either at the BSMMU or IEDCR.

On 2 May, 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.