Push for rapid test kits to be regulated amid flu peak season

Rapid flu test kits must be regulated and regularly inspected to ensure product quality and compliance with industry standards, a Hong Kong-based biotech company executive said.

The call came after Director of Health Ronald Lam Man-kin advised citizens to look for a government-certified registration number when purchasing rapid test kits in light of the flu peak season in Hong Kong.

Ricky Chiu Yin-to, chairman and CEO of PHASE Scientific International, said on a radio program today that the current registration system is voluntary and urged the government to legislate quality standards for these kits.

Chiu said that while rapid test kits are cheap, quick and simple, their accuracy could not be comparable to Covid-19 PCR tests. 

Lower-quality test kits may have accuracy as low as 20 percent, he said, while high-quality test kits can reach up to 90 percent. 

Chiu said various factors, including production process, material quality and transportation and storage methods, can affect the final accuracy of the rapid tests.

He urged the government to adopt practices from the mainland and the United States by requiring that rapid test kits sold in the market undergo large-scale clinical testing to ensure they achieve at least 80 percent accuracy.

He said authorities should also conduct quarterly inspections of rapid test kits available in the market and establish a certification system to ensure that the products are aligned with the prevalent seasonal flu viruses.

(Cheng Wong)