Aurangabad, April 24:
Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) of the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) has proved to be a real lifeline for Covid-19 patients.
In many districts of the State, it takes three days to receive the test report. However, in Aurangabad a patient gets the report in just one day.
This helps a patient with a negative report heave a sigh of relief, while a positive patient can go for treatment instantly.
The VRD Laboratory works 24X7 which enabled it to get top ranking among the laboratories in the State. The major credit for this achievement goes to head of the Microbiology Department in GMCH Dr Jyoti Bajaj-Iravane.
When the Covid-19 spread started last year, there was no facility for testing patient’s swab in Marathwada. The GMCH had a National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)-accredited TB laboratory.
Dr Jyoti Bajaj-Iravane made efforts to start the VRD Laboratory for swab testing. The laboratory received recognition from the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) and started working on March 29, 2020.
Swab samples of suspects from six districts were being sent to the VRD Lab, which tested 1000 swab samples daily in April and May 2020, while in other laboratories, the number was between 200 and 300 samples a day.
The GMCH laboratory has seven machines for the RT-PCR test which enables it to give the report in one day. Today, it has a capacity of testing 4,000 swab samples in a day. The VRD Laboratory is controlled and monitored by the Microbiology Department.
The highest RT-PCR samples tests (3.19 lakh) in the State were carried out at the laboratory.
GMCH dean, district collector and State Government extended help to the laboratory for its functioning. The district administration maintained the required stock of kits all the time.
The laboratory-wise number of RT-PCR tests is as follows:
GMCH, VRDL, Aurangabad - 3,19, 388 samples
BJGMC, Pune 3,11,898
NIV, Pune - 3,04,326
RCSM, GMC, Kolhapur - 2,88,288
MMTH, Navi Mumbai - 2,79,953
IGMC, Nagpur - 2,73,279
GMCH, Nagpur - 2,35,612