Indore: Installation of genome sequencing machine hits ‘training’ hurdle

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The installation of the genome sequencing machine to study the variants of the Covid-19 virus has hit the training hurdle as the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College administration is waiting for the team of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to prepare the manpower to run the machine. 

MGM Medical College had received the machine after a long wait but it has not been able to start even after more than two months.

Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College administration had received the state-of-the-art machine from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on November 27 but its installation process is moving at a snail’s pace.

According to the dean of MGM Medical College Dr Sanjay Dixit, the installation of the machine is underway and it would be completed at the earliest. “We have received a machine worth Rs 60 lakh from the WHO. We had sanctioned about Rs 6 lakhs to fulfil the requirements to get it installed and it would take about a month’s time,” Dr Dixit said.

He added that a team of NCDC experts will come to install the machine and it will also train the staff of the college to operate the same.

Initial samples tested in Indore would be sent to NCDC for confirmation and after a few rounds, MGM Medical College will get the approval to run the machine.

Talking about the availability of testing agents and kits, the dean said WHO will provide the same. 

Indore has got the machine after more than two years after the outbreak of the disease. At present, samples of Covid-19 patients in Indore are being sent to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi and AIIMS, Bhopal for genome sequencing to know about the variant of the prevalent coronavirus. A private hospital in the city too has a sequencing facility but the government doesn’t rely on it.

Published on: Sunday, February 05, 2023, 12:45 AM IST