Explained: How antibody test for COVID-19 is different from PCR test

News: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has sought price quotes for the supply of 10 lakh antibody kits (serological test) for diagnosis of COVID-19.

Facts:

• Two types of tests for viral infections: Genetic and serological
• Genetic test: It is conducted on a swab collected from the back of the throat, a liquid sample from the lower respiratory tract, or a simple saliva sample.
• Serological Test: It is a blood test to detect the presence of antibodies against a microorganism.
• Advantage of Serological Test over Genetic Test:. Serological tests help detect and trace past infections while genetic tests can only identify infections that are active. They are relatively cheaper than genetic tests.

Additional Facts:

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR):

• It is the apex and premier medical research organization in India. 
• Function: planning, formulation, coordination, implementation and promotion of biomedical research.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Hydroxychloroquine now a schedule H1 drug

News: The government has notified hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, under Schedule-H1 to regulate and restrict the sale and distribution of the drug.

Facts:

Classification of Drugs in India: The Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, provides for classification of drugs into different schedules.

Schedule	Features
Schedule H1	Aims to check to check the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, anti-TB and some other drugs. Cannot be sold without a valid prescription. Package of the drugs has mandatory warning printed in a box with a red colour border.
Schedule H	Cannot be sold without a valid prescription. Labels of any Schedule H drug must display the text “Rx” on the top left corner of the label
Schedule X	Labels of any Schedule X drug must display the text “XRx” on the top left corner of the label. Includes narcotic and psychotropic substances-based drugs. Cannot be sold without a valid prescription. Drug retailer has to preserve the copy of prescription for two years

PM’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF)

News: The Railway Board has appealed to its employees to voluntarily donate a day’s salary towards the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to support the fight against the novel coronavirus.

Facts:

• Established in: 1948
• Used for: immediate relief to families of those killed in natural calamities like floods, cyclones and earthquakes, etc. and to the victims of the major accidents and riots
• Headed by: Prime Minister
• Administration: Administered on an Honorary basis by Joint Secretary to the Prime Minister as Secretary of the fund.

• Features:

• Consists entirely of public contributions and does not get any budgetary support.
• Recognized as a Trust under the Income Tax Act
• Exempt under the Income Tax Act, 1961 under Section 10 and 139 for return purposes.

Zoonotic Diseases

News: Since the beginning of the 21st century, there has been emergence and outbreaks of multiple zoonotic diseases.

Facts:

Definition: Type of disease that passes from an animal or insect to a human.

Diseases	Features
Nipah	Host: Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family  transmitted to humans from animals (such as bats or pigs), or contaminated foods and transmitted directly from human-to-human.
Zika	transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes.  infected people can transmit Zika through transfer of body fluids including sexual intercourse
Ebola	6 species of Ebola Virus identified till date: Zaire, Bundibugyo, Sudan, Taï Forest, Reston and Bombali. Host:fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family Transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission
Avian/Bird Flu	caused by H5N1 virus, a subtype of the influenza A virus.  Human infections occur through infected bird-to-human contact or contact with surfaces and objects contaminated by their droppings. Human-human transmission is limited
Swine Flu	Caused by H1N1 virus  occur in people with direct exposure to pigs spread from person to person, similar to seasonal influenza viruses.
Kyasanur forest disease	caused by Kyasanur Forest disease Virus(KFDV), a member of the virus family Flaviviridae Host: Rodents, shrews and monkeys after being bitten by an infected tick. Transmission to humans occur after a tick bite or contact with an infected animal
Rabies	caused by Ribonucleic Acid(RNA) virus that is present in the saliva of a rabid animal. Transmitted to humans following a bite of a rabid animal
West Nile Virus	caused by the West Nile Virus Natural Host: Birds Transmits to humans through bites from infected Culex mosquitoes
Monkeypox	caused by monkeypox virus transmitted to people from wild animals such as rodents and primates Human-to human transmission caused by contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials
Dengue	Caused by Dengue virus belonging to the genus Flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae Transmitted to humans by bite of an infected female Aedes Aegypti mosquito
Malaria	caused by Plasmodium parasites  transmitted to humans through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
Hantavirus	family of viruses which are spread mainly by rodents does not spread from one person to another can be contracted if someone comes in contact with a rodent that carries the virus.

PM-CARES Fund

News:Prime Minister has announced the constitution of the PM’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations(PM-CARES) fund.

Facts:

• PM-CARES: It is a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation like posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Chairman: Prime Minister
• Members:Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister.
• Exemption:The donations to this fund will be exempted from income tax under section 80(G).

Cantonment Board

News: Cantonment Boards from all over the country have taken various steps to control the spread of Coronavirus pandemic.

Facts:

• Cantonment Board:It is established for municipal administration for the civilian population in the cantonment area.lt is set up under the provisions of the Cantonments Act of 2006.
• Nodal Ministry: It works under the administrative control of the Defence Ministry of the Central Government.
• Functions: It performs similar functions to those of a municipality. 
• Composition: It consists of partly elected and partly nominated members.The elected members hold office for a term of five years while the nominated members continue so long as they hold the office in that station. 
• President: The military officer commanding the station is the ex-oticio president of the board and presides over its meetings.

Trusted News Initiative

News: The Trusted News Initiative has decided to extend its efforts in identifying false and potentially harmful information on the coronavirus pandemic.

Facts:

• The Trusted News Initiative was announced by BBC in 2019. It comprises a number of major news and tech organisations from all around the world.
• Aim: To protect the people against the disinformation and fake news especially during the time of elections.

Tribal Lockdown Rituals

News:Tribes in Arunachal Pradesh have revived indigenous lockdown rituals to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Facts:

Galos Tribe:

• It is one of the 26 major Scheduled tribes of Arunachal Pradesh that dominate West Siang district.
• It practices the Arr-Rinam ritual which imposes lockdown for 48 hours whenever an epidemic strikes.

Adi Tribe:

• The Adi tribe is believed to have come from southern China in the 16th century.They are the Tibeto-Burman language speaking population.
• They performed a ritual called the motor or pator system where the locals lock down villages by erecting barricades to prevent the entry of outsiders.

Nyishi Tribe:

• Nyishi is a single largest Scheduled Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh.They speak Tibeto-Burman language.
• They observe rituals such as Arrue(Self Quarantine), Khyasang-Ratar and Merii for preventing the entry of an epidemic to a village.

COVID-19 National Teleconsultation Centre (CoNTeC)

News:The Union Minister of Health has launched the COVID-19 National Teleconsultation Centre(CoNTeC).

Facts:

• CoNTeC has been conceptualised by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and has been implemented by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
• Aim: It is a Telemedicine Hub to connect the doctors across the country to AIIMS in real-time for treatment of the COVID-19 patients.

Recession

News:The International Monetary Fund(IMF) has said that the world has entered into a global recession due to the coronavirus crisis.

Facts:

• A recession is a period when economic activities are in a general decline typically accompanied by unemployment, falling income and consumer spending.
• To overcome recession, countries generally react by loosening their monetary policies by infusing more money into the system i.e by increasing the money supply.
• The Financial crisis of 2008 is the most recent example of a recession.

Additional Facts:

• Depression:It is a deep and long-lasting recession that lasts for many years.During this period, the decline in GDP exceeds 10% and an unemployment rate that touches 25%.