TIRUPATI: Soon, medical and health officials in the State won’t need to send samples of suspected coronavirus (COVID-19) patients to Hyderabad or Pune for testing as Andhra Pradesh is set to get the kits needed for such tests in a day or two.
The diagnostic kits have been dispatched from the National Institute of Virology, Pune to the Virology Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) of the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) in Tirupati.
The VRDL, which was initially set up in SVIMS as a Grade-3 lab by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to provide timely diagnosis of both existing and emerging viral diseases in Chitoor, Anantapur, Kadapa, Kurnool and Nellore districts, was upgraded to be a State-level lab in February, 2019.
According to the Medical Superintendent and HoD of Nephrology, Professor Ram, SVIMS, which has set up a six-bed isolation ICU ward, has equipped it with ventilators, monitors, and protective gear for nurses and other staff.
“We have been maintaining sufficient stock of medication and personal protective equipment (PPE) kits. We expect the diagnostic kits for COVID-19 to reach within a day or two. The National Institute of Virology has already dispatched them,” said Ram. Medical authorities have also set up a well-equipped laboratory at SVIMS under VRDL for diagnosis of COVID-19. Medical officials of SVIMS said they are ready to face any emergency that could arise from the coronavirus outbreak.
Another Delhi man infected, all affected persons stable
On a day the Union health ministry scrambled to contact trace an American who made a trip to India before reaching Bhutan where he was diagnosed with coronavirus, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) released its first set of research papers on the virus. Sources said the 76-year-old and his 56-year-old partner visited Guwahati and Mumbai after arriving in Kolkata on February 21. He left India on March 1. “We have asked the three State govts to trace all persons he could have been in touch with and put them under surveillance,” a senior healthy ministry official said. On Friday, the total number of confirmed cases in India reached 31 — up by one. The latest addition to the list is a Delhi-based man who had recently been to Thailand and Malaysia. All 28 active cases are said to be stable
