SGPGI TESTS 7,748 SAMPLES IN A DAY VIA RT-PCR, SAYS IT’S A RECORD

LUCKNOW : The microbiology lab of Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) tested 7,748 samples for Covid through the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method on Tuesday. This is the highest number of samples tested by any lab in the country through RT-PCR method in a day, claimed Professor Ujjwala Ghoshal, head of the department of microbiology at SGPGIMS.

She said, “Higher numbers of RT-PCR tests could be instrumental in controlling the pandemic even as infections of the viral disease continue to mount steadily.”

“We are proud of this record. I thank the team of the microbiology department as we have crossed the mark of 6 lakh tests through RT-PCR method in just seven months. We have taken the opportunity to serve our country during the pandemic. Some of our staff have not gone back to their home after the outbreak of the pandemic in the state. They have been living in the hospital since the outbreak,” she added.

Professor Ghoshal went on to say, “The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests remain the gold standard for diagnosing Covid-19. However, rapid antigen testing has also played a key role in scaling up diagnoses of the disease at a larger scale. But it is said that RT-PCR tests give a more accurate picture of infection in the body.”

Professor Radha Krishna Dhiman, director of SGPGIMS, said, “To control the spread of the virus, aggressive testing is very important. Only through aggressive testing of the contacts of patients, there would be a dip in the spread of the virus.”

He added, “To stop the spread of disease, one must be able to identify, through testing, as many infected individuals as possible in time so that they are isolated and put on treatment as soon as possible.”

He also said, “The RT-PCR test is the best for Covid-19 testing. One can say that it is the most definitive test available. It is used for the detection of nucleic acid from Sars-CoV-2 and is based on PCR, a process that duplicates and amplifies genetic fragments of the virus, so that it becomes easily detectable.”

THIS IS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF SAMPLES TESTED BY ANY LAB IN THE COUNTRY THROUGH RT-PCR METHOD IN A DAY, CLAIMED PROF UJJWALA GHOSHAL