Mysuru’s COVID-19 testing potential has been doubled and the laboratory carrying out coronavirus testing here is now equipped to handle more than 800 samples a day.
So far, the Viral Diagnostic and Research Laboratory (VRDL) at the Mysuru Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI), the sole facility identified for the testing, had analysed more than 11,000 samples, including about 6,500 samples from Mysuru district alone. The lab was earlier carrying out testing on the samples sourced from neighbouring districts, including Mandya, Hassan, Kodagu and Chamarajnagar.
With the lockdown curbs eased for the return of stranded inter-State and international travellers, the testing is expected to see an increase since all the returnees, who are being quarantined in the government facility, were supposed to undergo testing irrespective of the symptoms.
Foreseeing a spurt in samples, the Mysuru lab has got bigger, thanks to the addition of the state-of-the-art mobile lab of the DRDO-Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), Mysuru. This particular lab – Mobile Food Microbial Analysis Laboratory –- was being used by the DFRL for food analysis. The lab was handed over to the MMCRI recently for coronavirus testing since it is equipped with most advanced apparatus including PCR or thermal cycler machines.
After the tests using China-made rapid testing kits had been halted in the country, tests using PCR machines had been recommended. In addition to its own PCR machines, the VRDL got two more machines from the CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) for stepping up testing.
Though the load on VRDL was reduced recently after the neighbouring districts got their own labs, the samples however rose with the arrival of inter-State and international returnees. “The VRDL, which was handling 250-300 samples a day in three shifts till recently, was today carrying out over 600 to 700 samples a day. It can stretch up to 800 samples a day, doubling its capacity,” said MMCRI Dean and Director C.P. Nanjaraj.
Dr. Nanjaraj told The Hindu that the MMCRI had roped in the clinical staff from its research wing and also from the tuberculosis centre to support the VRDL staff in handling the rising number of samples. Importantly, the VRDL received a special bio-safety cabinet and deep freezers for boosting testing.
Another reason for the increase in testing was the referral of SARI cases. With the tests made compulsory for SARI and ILI cases, the private hospitals had been referring such cases directly to MMCRI’s K.R. Hospital. The hospitals are reluctant to attend to such cases as they are worried that about their closure for containment reasons if the patients end up carrying the infection, sources told The Hindu.
Patients with respiratory problems are tested for COVID-19 and are sent back to private hospitals for treatment if they test negative. Positive patients are shifted to the COVID-19 hospital. Only two SARI cases had tested positive till date.
Out of 350 SARI cases witnessed so far, samples of 150 cases had tested negative. About 50 to 60 cases are being treated in the hospital and some cases had been discharged after treatment. “In the days ahead, testing will become regular, increasing the load on the lab,” they add.