While the images of one of the harshest lockdowns ever could be eating away much of public space, the real battle against global pandemic COVID-19 is being fought in the laboratories.
The Central Research Laboratory on the campus of Guntur Medical College is one of the seven labs in the State to be equipped with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-certified Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) diagnostic machines.
Across the world, RT-PCR testing is considered as the gold standard testing method. Even though TrueNAT testing kits use chip- based technology which enables faster results and the strip-based Rapid Test Kits, used for knowing the immunity levels of the person, RT-PCR has evolved as the standard diagnostic procedure across the world.
The Central Research Laboratory was sanctioned in the year 2018 and it is here hundreds of oral swabs have been tested ever since the first week of April, paving the way for many physical and scientific interventions by the local administration.
Doctors on duty at the lab said that so far, 4,682 samples have been tested so far from Guntur and Prakasam districts, of which 3,015 have turned out to be negative and 149 positive.
About 15 personnel, including three research scientists, three research associates and three professors from the Microbiology department assisted by technical personnel work round the clock in two shifts.
The lab, located on the second floor, has no lift or generator, but that has not stopped the staff from discharging their duties.
Cold chain transport
Collection of samples of suspected cases and testing is vastly different and much complicated when compared with other viral tests. Oral swabs collected in the field are transported in a viral transport medium through a cold chain transport, in -18 degrees Celsius and are brought to the lab.
“Testing of these samples involve about 20 steps and we follow ICMR testing protocols . It takes about 3-6 hours for the results,’’ says Prasanthi, Associate Professor of Microbiology, Guntur Medical College.
Results of tests are being sent to the local and State administrations in addition to the ICMR which has a data portal for streamlining the data collection from all the laboratories on a real-time basis.
