Pushpagiri Centre for Virology gets NABL Accreditation for RT-PCR Diagnostics in RNA viruses

Pushpagiri Centre for Virology gets NABL Accreditation for RT-PCR

Diagnostics in RNA viruses

The Pushpagiri Centre for Virology, a part of the Pushpagiri Research Centre facility, has received National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL) accreditation for Real-Time PCR Diagnostics in
RNA viruses. The accreditation makes the centre is eligible to do RT-PCR tests for diagnosing Covid19. With this, patients coming to Pushpagiri Medical College Hospital will have access to all the different types of tests available for Covid19- antibody, antigen and RT-PCR. Pushpagiri Centre for Virology was one of the first centres in the private sector in Kerala State to start molecular diagnostics for infectious diseases, way back in 2011. The technical expertise built over the last decade has resulted in molecular tests for herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus, varicella-zoster virus, hepatitis b virus, hepatitis c virus, influenza A virus, respiratory syncytial virus, Japanese encephalitis virus and dengue virus. The centre also does quantitative PCR for Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C viruses. These viral diagnostics are crucial and life-saving for patients admitted to the intensive care units with severe infections. Also, these tests help the gastroenterologists to iterate their therapy for patients suffering from Hepatitis B and C. The NABL accreditation was made possible due to the efforts put in by Dr Mercy John Idicula (Professor and Head of Microbiology), George Varghese (In-charge, Pushpagiri Centre for Virology), Dr Sherly Antony (Scientist and Assistant Professor, Microbiology), Dr Prasanth Rathinam (Scientist and Assistant Professor, PRC) and all the technical team. The support and encouragement from Rev Dr Mathew Mazhavancheril (Director, PRC) was instrumental in the successful completion of the entire process.