TN to use equipment from academic institutions to boost testing in health institutions

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
In a bid to increase testing capacity in its laboratories, the state government will be transferring real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) equipment from seven universities to health institutions.

The Higher education secretary has written to the registrars of the Madras University, Bharatiar University, Bharatidasan varsity, Periyar University, Manonamaniam Sundarnar University, Madurai Kamaraj University and Alagappa University to temporarily divert equipment which was earlier used for academic purpose.  

This comes after Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide COVID-19 rapid test kits and a grant of ₹1,000 crore immediately to procure medical and protective materials.

Currently, Madras University has four equipments, including a Quant Studio 5 RT-PCR equipment which will be diverted to State Public Health Laboratory in DMS Campus, Stanley Medical College, Kilpauk Medical College and CDH Tondiarpet.

Similarly, Bharatiar University, which has five such equipment including a Quant Studio 5 euipment, will be diverting it to Coimbatore Medical College, Tirunelveli medical college, ESI Government Medical college and IRT Government Medical College while Bharatidasan University which has two such equipment will be diverting it to Medical College Trichy.

Meanwhile two equipments in Periyar will be transferred to Medical College, Karur and salem, one in Manonmaniam Sundarnar University will be transfeed to Medical College, Tirunelveli, two in Madurai Kamaraj University will be transferred to Medical college Theni and Medical college in Madurai. The equipment in Alagappa University will be provided to Sivaganga Medical College.

The COVID-19 RT-PCR equipment couold be used as a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(rRT-PCR) test for the qualitative detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2 in upper and lower respiratory specimens (such as nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swabs, sputum, lower respiratory tract aspirates, bronchoalveolar lavage, and nasopharyngeal wash/aspirate or nasal aspirate) collected from individuals suspected of COVID-19 by their healthcare provider.

The machines has been mandated to be handled by hospital technicians and the required consumables will be arranged by the health department.