[Newsweek] Health experts in India have advised against further use of coronavirus testing kits procured from Chinese companies, disclosing its intentions to return all previously acquired tests to suppliers in an announcement released on Monday.
The statement, issued by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Dr. G. S. Toteja, cited reports of performance issues from various states and corroborated their claims with conclusions drawn from the council's own evaluations.
"The results have shown wide variation in their sensitivity, despite early promise of good performance for surveillance purposes," ICMR said of the antibody assessments, which aim to identify individuals who have contracted the novel coronavirus by detecting the presence of certain antibodies in blood. Earlier this month, India received roughly 500,000 testing kits from two biotechnology companies based in China, Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in India, Ji Rong, responded to ICMR's announcement on Tuesday, calling its analysis of the testing kits "unfair and irresponsible." His statement also noted that both products met quality standards established by China's governing medical board as well as India's national virology institute. 
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