The Department of Microbiology

The Department of Microbiology has three primary responsibilities such as teaching/ training, diagnostic laboratory services and research activities. The department is actively involved in teaching undergraduates and postgraduates. Training and educational events are organized in the form of workshops and CMEs in diverse topics such as HIV and opportunistic infections, clinical diagnostic methods, parasitic infections and tuberculosis.

The Microbiology laboratory provides a gamut of advanced and novel diagnostic tests. It offers quality diagnostic services to the various clinical departments. Tests that have been added in the recent years to the meet the diagnostic needs of the hospital include MALDI-TOF for bacterial and yeast identification, PCR for HIV, HSV and E histolytica, NS1 antigen detection, stool culture for Campylobacter jejuni, antigen detection tests for filariasis. The department has started viral load testing for Hepatitis B and C along with PCR based diagnosis for cytomegalovirus, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile Virus & Zika virus.

The department offers high end diagnostic facilities like high throughput automated ELISA system (EVOLIS ELISA system) which can run four assays at any given time, real time PCR and molecular tests for diagnosis of amoebiasis, tuberculosis & HSV. It also has facilities for automated detection and antimicrobial susceptibility testing by VITEK 2, MGIT and GeneXpert IV. The department has also introduced GeneXpert as routine diagnostic test for diagnosis of TB and detection of rifampicin resistance in extraplumonary TB, pediatric TB and HIV associated TB. Besides these, it has also introduced the PARASIGHT for rapid and quick diagnosis of malarial parasite and also to quantify the load.

The Department houses the State Reference Laboratory for HIV testing which is accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), Regional Influenza Laboratory and ICMR funded Regional level Virology Laboratory. It is the ICMR nodal Center for antimicrobial resistance surveillance in Staphylococci and Enterococci. The department is making an all round effort to provide newer diagnostic services for better patient care, upgraded training program for the students: both undergraduates and postgraduates, and a congenial environment for research and innovation.