In a bid to increase rapid testing in the state amid the surging coronavirus cases, the Karnataka government on Wednesday, August 5, launched a mobile COVID-19 lab, developed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
During inauguration, State Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar claimed it to be the first ICMR-approved mobile RT-PCR COVID-19 testing lab in the country. It has the capacity to perform about 400 tests a day, with over 9,000 RT-PCR tests per month.
‘This is a unique lab having all safety features and capable of producing 100% accurate results within four hours,’ The Indian Express quoted Sudhakar.
The Medical Education Minister while addressing the media informed that the Mobile Infection Testing and Reporting (MITR) lab will provide results within four hours. In addition, it can also be used for molecular diagnostic-testing and can be deployed in coronavirus hot spots quickly.
ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಿತ @iiscbangalore ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಪಡಿಸಿರುವ ದೇಶದ ಪ್ರಪ್ರಥಮ ಮತ್ತು ಏಕೈಕ @ICMRDELHI ಅನುಮೋದಿತ ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಆರ್ ಟಿ-ಪಿಸಿಆರ್ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಪರೀಕ್ಷಾ ಲ್ಯಾಬ್ ಗೆ ಇಂದು ಚಾಲನೆ ನೀಡಲಾಯಿತು. ಇದರಿಂದ ಕೇವಲ 4 ಗಂಟೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಟೆಸ್ಟ್ ವರದಿ ಪಡೆಯಬಹುದಾಗಿದ್ದು ದಿನಕ್ಕೆ ಸುಮಾರು 400 ಟೆಸ್ಟ್ ನಡೆಸುವ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. pic.twitter.com/rzrcLtBvqg
— Dr Sudhakar K (@mla_sudhakar) August 5, 2020
Apart from COVID-19, the lab can also conduct testing for H1N1 (Swine Flu), HCV (Hepatitis C), TB (Tuberculosis), HPV (human papillomavirus) and HIV among others.
The state conducted over 27,000 Rapid Antigen Detection Tests in the last 24-hours, with a total of 2,62,143. A total of 43,638 samples have been tested for coronavirus. 12,70,511 RT-PCR and other methods of testing have been done up till Wednesday, as per data shared by the Department of Health and Family Welfare of Karnataka.
The state reported 5,619 new confirmed cases and 100 deaths in the last 24 hours. The state has at least 1,51,449 confirmed cases and the death toll has risen to 2,804.
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