Nagpur: With the deadly Dengue virus getting rampant and gripping citizens with impunity, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has brought its own Elisa reader machine, which can diagnose dengue cases within a very short time. The Elisa machine was dedicated to the public on Thursday by Central Nagpur MLA Vikas Kumbhare in a programme organized at NMC-run Prabhakarrao Datke Memorial Diagnostic Centre, Mahal. The function was presided over by Mayor Pravin Datke.
Speaking on the occasion, Mayor said that the facility to detect Dengue fever existed only at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (Mayo). However, since almost all serum samples from Vidarbha and surrounding areas were being sent to these two hospitals the reports got delayed inordinately. Keeping in mind the problem, the Standing Committee and Health Committee pursued the matter and with their efforts the Elisa machine is being dedicated to the public. Now, the NMC’s own machine will expedite the Dengue detection and help the patients receive urgent treatment, stated the Mayor.
The civic body decided to get its own machine after the city registered the highest-ever dengue positive cases of 621 last year.
The NMC Filaria and Malaria Department will collect serum samples of suspected dengue patients and test them in Elisa reader machine installed at the Diagnostic Centre, Mahal. Total 92 serum samples can be tested in one kit. As per norms, private hospitals or pathology laboratories cannot declare positive dengue cases. NMC is the authority to declare positive cases. NMC used to collect serum samples and send them to NIV, Pune, for testing due to lack of Elisa reader machine in the city. It used to take a week or more for the results to come in.
Others who were present on the occasion include Standing Committee Chairman Ramesh Singare, Ruling Party Leader Dayashankar Tiwari, Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar, Health Committee Chairman Devendra Meher, Transport Committee Chairman Bandu Raut, Additional Municipal Commissioner Nayana Gunde, several Corporators and others.
