The much awaited H1N1 testing laboratory at Kasturba Hospital in the city was finally thrown open for public on Wednesday.
The irony, however, is that the lab has been inaugurated after the cases of H1N1 have drastically reduced in the city after peaking last year. Earlier, the samples were sent for testing to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune and to the Haffkine Research Institute in Mumbai.
The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) laboratory, which is said to be built at a cost of Rs96 lakhs, is equipped to test up to 42 samples of throat and nasal swabs and give out reports in 6-7 hours. Also, the laboratory has been set up under negative air pressure so that the technicians are not at the risk of getting infected.
“The lab has been built as per the guidelines of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US, and WHO,” said Dr Neelima Vaidya, scientific officer, PCR laboratory.
The laboratory will also test samples from private hospitals at a specific cost.
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