KEM Hospital tests 20 samples for coronavirus; to boost capacity soon

The city’s second Covid-19 testing laboratory at its largest municipal facility, King Edward Memorial (KEM), Parel, started tests on Thursday. On the first day,

The city’s second Covid-19 testing laboratory at its largest municipal facility, King Edward Memorial (KEM), Parel, started tests on Thursday. On the first day, the laboratory tested 20 samples, but the number of daily tests could increase to 150 daily by the end of the week. The laboratory currently conducts four sets of tests with twelve samples in a set, which it will eventually increase to 40 samples.

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“As this is a new laboratory, we need time to settle down. We will start with 48 samples and by the end of next week, the number will rise to 100-150 tests,” Dr Hemant Deshmukh, dean of KEM Hospital.

Although KEM Hospital had a qualified microbiology laboratory with polymerase chain reaction machine, which finds out whether samples have genetic material from the virus, the institute was waiting for more equipment. A philanthropist donated an automated nucleic acid extractor worth ₹15 lakh. “There are two ways to process the samples, one automated and other manual. So, this one is automated which will helped in faster processing. Due to the ongoing health outbreak, a company has donated this machine to us,” added Dr Deshmukh.

A class IV municipal employee on Thursday carried the first samples in a vaccine carrier, which keeps samples in a cold chain until it undergoes analysis. “This is the first time I have carried the sample of the coronavirus in hand. I didn’t even tell my family members about this new role. But I know it’s safe and all precautionary measures have been taken to carry the sample safely so far,” he said.

As a trial test, the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune sent a sample to KEM Hospital on Tuesday and once the premier virology institute approved the result, permissions was granted to start the testing from Thursday. The laboratory will run for 14hours in two shifts and a team of 50 members has been constituted for its functioning.

But no person can approach the laboratory directly for testing. “Any person with symptoms of flu or travel history has to approach Kasturba Hospital for testing. We are here for the testing, not to collect samples,” said Dr Deshmukh.

The BMC also has plans to increase the testing capacity at Kasturba Hospital to 250 daily from the current 130. With the addition of this second laboratory, the number of samples being tested daily will touch 500. The KEM Hospital’s laboratory is the third facility in the state to test Covid-19 samples, after Kasturba Hospital, Mumbai, and National Institute of Virology, Pune.

How are suspected samples tested

Samples are collected by taking swabs from the upper and lower respiratory regions of suspected patients

They are processed in the nucleic acid extractor to extract genetic material

The extracted material is tested in the polymerase chain reactor to see whether it matches the genetic code of Covid-19

Tests are done in batches

(Source: WHO/doctors)