The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus has affected normal life globally. In India, the virus spread faster than measures taken to stop it, resulting in stringent measures such as complete lockdown. With no drug or vaccine available, the only way to fight the pandemic is by diagnosing and containing positive cases. However, expertise in handling patient samples and performing RTPCR tests was limited, causing delays in testing.
To make the state of Telangana self-reliant, CCMB established protocols and trained technicians from various hospitals and research institutes, increasing testing centers from zero to nine. CCMB was designated as one of the COVID-19 testing centers by the central government of India. The Biosafety Laboratory Level 3 (BSL-3) operational at CCMB helped test samples received from the government of Telangana. Volunteers at CCMB, including PhD students, post-doctoral fellows, and short-term research fellows, were trained quickly and effectively, and the testing capacity increased from 90 samples a day to 500 samples a day.
The CCMB team worked tirelessly to break down testing into five steps and foster relationships with local hospitals and doctors. The team included active researchers who tested new strategies to improve the overall testing capacity and reduce the overall cost of testing. CCMB was the first institute in the country to practice pooling, and the Telangana Government quickly adopted the strategy in low prevalence rate districts. Efforts are underway to use Next Generation Sequencing for testing thousands of samples a day. The testing is an ongoing process, and CCMB is fully committed to the cause.
Main article is published as part of CCMB Chronicles
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