A low-cost diagnostic tool kit that can detect the swine flu virus in just five minutes is being developed by the Indian Council for Medical Research, a top official has said.

The tool based on polynial chain reaction method is a simple kit to detect the virus that has so far claimed over 700 lives across the country. It will be released in a month or two, Deputy Director General of ICMR M Rajamani said here.

"It is a simple kit and can detect the virus in five minutes. It can be sent to villages for spot tests also," he told reporters yesterday.

The price would range from Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,000 while the existing imported ones cost Rs 7,000, Rajamani, who was here to participate in a conference of Medical Anthropology, said.