Anticipating rise in flu samples, IPM gets new machine for H1N1 testing

HYDERABAD: Anticipating a further increase in the daily load of H1N1 samples, the Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) has now got another swine flu testing machine to add to the existing fleet of three equipments available in the city.

With the added capacity the IPM lab, recently upgraded to the bio-safety level 3, along with the Fever Hospital lab can, henceforth, test up to 450 samples every day. The price of one such imported machine is 35 lakh.

While 50-100 samples are being tested at the two labs each day, health authorities fear a spike in this figure over the next two months, as the swine flu season peaks. According to rough estimates, the number of daily samples is likely to jump by two-three times during this period. It is for the same reason that they recently asked district hospitals to prepare isolation wards and expanded the nodal centre for treatment of grade 3 swine flu patients (critical cases).

“Though we have sufficient testing capacity, the latest machine will increase it to 450. Testing can be done round the clock in three different shifts if need be,” said Dr G Srinivas Rao, director of public health, Telangana. Enough staff have also been made available to operate these machines.