Pune: The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) based in Pune has tested 11 thousand swab samples of Covid-19 patients so far, adding to the overall testing capacity of the city. IISER is also involved in the serological survey activity being carried by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to assess the community spread of coronavirus in the city.
IISER’s Associate Professor Balasubramanian Nagaraj who tweets from his handle @AdhesionLab says, “11,000 samples tested and counting... made possible by staff, students and faculty volunteers at the IISERPune Covid testing center. A special vote of thanks by Anjan Banerjee acknowledging all the volunteers at the testing Center today including many from SPPU”.
IISERs official twitter handle quote tweeted about him August 1 evening. The official tweet says “The Covid19 testing centre IISERPune has tested 11,000 samples so far, adding to the testing capacity in Pune. Kudos to all volunteers for their selfless service.” In another tweet on August 2, IISER has also clarified that these samples are “related to testing for COVID-19 through RT-PCR assay for diagnostic purpose.”
The IISER testing centre was started in May with the help of volunteers from within the IISER Pune community including students, staff and faculty members, and led by the institute’s ‘Action Committee on Covid-19’.
Throat and nasal swab samples from government hospitals arrive at the centre every day and are tested for the presence of the virus causing Covid-19 using an ICMR approved kit. Prof Anjan Banerjee is the nodal officer for the facility.
Preparations for setting up the Centre had begun in full swing sometime in mid-April. A small group led by a few faculty members in the biology department assessed feasibility and established the required physical infrastructure. Following approval from the Apex Committee of the institute for this activity, a call for technically qualified volunteers with diverse skill sets from within the institute was sent out for carrying out various aspects of the testing.
Standard Operating Procedures were drawn up with help and inputs from mentor institute Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), National Institute of Virology (NIV), and the National Centre for Cell Sciences (NCCS).
