<p class="title">Backing plasma therapy to assist significantly in treating Covid-19 patients, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said that the government was awaiting Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) approval to pursue it further.</p>.<p class="title"><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-news-live-updates-india-to-remain-under-lockdown-till-may-3-tally-breaches-10000-mark-toll-at-326-817763.html?_ga=2.59514475.775988291.1587130386-607279861.1585015039">Follow live updates on coronavirus</a></strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">"As a doctor, I am confident that plasma therapy will work," Sudhakar, the minister in-charge for Covid-19 in Bengaluru, told DH, following a meeting chaired by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa with senior ministers and officials. The treatment has shown great promise in Kerala, and Karnataka was keen on taking up the same to treat patients, he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-india-update-state-wise-total-number-of-confirmed-cases-deaths-on-april-17-826340.html" target="_blank"><strong>Follow the state-wise total of confirmed coronavirus cases here</strong></a></p>.<p class="bodytext">It can be recalled that the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) ethics committee had cleared convalescent plasma therapy for treating critically-ill Covid-19 patients. The therapy will transfuse the antibodies present in a recovered patient's blood to a patients on ventilator support, which increases chances of the patients' recovery.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><span class="bold"><strong>Rapid kits</strong></span></p>.<p class="bodytext">One lakh rapid testing kits will arrive soon in the State, Sudhakar said, adding that they cannot be used to diagnose whether a patient had Covid-19. "Only Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test has 100% accuracy in detecting the disease. Rapid kits can be used just to check whether anti-bodies that fight Covid-19 are generated in a body," he said.</p>
<p class="title">Backing plasma therapy to assist significantly in treating Covid-19 patients, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said that the government was awaiting Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) approval to pursue it further.</p>.<p class="title"><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-news-live-updates-india-to-remain-under-lockdown-till-may-3-tally-breaches-10000-mark-toll-at-326-817763.html?_ga=2.59514475.775988291.1587130386-607279861.1585015039">Follow live updates on coronavirus</a></strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">"As a doctor, I am confident that plasma therapy will work," Sudhakar, the minister in-charge for Covid-19 in Bengaluru, told DH, following a meeting chaired by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa with senior ministers and officials. The treatment has shown great promise in Kerala, and Karnataka was keen on taking up the same to treat patients, he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-india-update-state-wise-total-number-of-confirmed-cases-deaths-on-april-17-826340.html" target="_blank"><strong>Follow the state-wise total of confirmed coronavirus cases here</strong></a></p>.<p class="bodytext">It can be recalled that the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) ethics committee had cleared convalescent plasma therapy for treating critically-ill Covid-19 patients. The therapy will transfuse the antibodies present in a recovered patient's blood to a patients on ventilator support, which increases chances of the patients' recovery.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><span class="bold"><strong>Rapid kits</strong></span></p>.<p class="bodytext">One lakh rapid testing kits will arrive soon in the State, Sudhakar said, adding that they cannot be used to diagnose whether a patient had Covid-19. "Only Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test has 100% accuracy in detecting the disease. Rapid kits can be used just to check whether anti-bodies that fight Covid-19 are generated in a body," he said.</p>
