Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research

A NABH Pre-Accreditation Entry Level Hospital

Microbiology

The department focuses on continuous medical education for their staff. Weekly seminars, journal clubs, practical tests etc. are being conducted to improve and motivate staff in the department, especially to provide quality services to patients and to maintain good laboratory management.

Overview

The Department of Microbiology comprises a number of sub-departments:

Bacteriology
Virology
Mycology
Serology
TB laboratory

Quality Control and Academics

Quality: The department aims at maintaining continuous and consistent quality through internal quality controls and by participating in External Quality Assessment Schemes with Christian Medical College, Vellore, and the Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists for Biochemistry and Microbiology.
CME: The department focuses on continuous medical education for its staff. Weekly seminars, journal clubs, practical tests, etc. are being conducted to improve and motivate staff in the department, especially to provide quality services to patients and to maintain good laboratory management. Some of the workshops and training that the staff has attended in 2017 are HISCON, NACO Blood Banking, Artificial insemination techniques, Basic Epidemiology (CMC Vellore), Hospital Management (CMAI Bangalore), NABL GCLP YRG Chennai, CART YRG, Chennai, etc.
Academics: The department is in the third year of running the Christian Medical Association Of India Diploma course in Medical laboratory Technology. Four seats are available for this course every year, with a minimum educational qualification of 10+2 with 45% in Science (PCB).

SERVICES

Timing

Doctors

Kekhrie Zao

B.Sc. MLT, M.Sc. MLT Microbiology and Immunology

Sungkumtangla Jamir

B. Sc (MICROBIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, ZOOLOGY), M. Sc IN MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY

Services

BACTERIOLOGY :

Bacterial culture and Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing for all specimens by manual culture and automated Biomerieux Vitek for Bacterial Identification and Quantitative Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing for faster turn around time.
Becton Dickinson, Bactec 9050 for Blood and other sterile body fluid culture
Gram stain
Ziehl Neelsen (AFB) stain
Wet mount
Hanging drop for V. cholerae
India ink
Tb laboratory
RNTCP Designated Microscopy Centre

MYCOLOGY :

KOH/scraping for fungus & others
Fungal culture for superficial, subcutaneous, and systemic mycoses

SEROLOGY :

Serum rapid RVT antibody test
Fourth generation ELISA (AG AB)
Serum rapid HBSAG
Serum rapid HCV antibody
Serum rapid HAV IgM, IgG
Serum VDRL / RPR / Syphilis Treponema specific antigen
Serum Dengue NS1 Ag and antibody
Serum Leptospiraigm, igg
Serum Scrub typhus antibody
Serum Anti Streptolysin O titre
Serum widal
Serum RA factor
Serum C-Reactive protein
Anti-Nuclear antibodies Screening
Anti-ds DNA
TORCH panel

VIROLOGY:

HIV Viral load PCR
HCV Viral load PCR
HBV Viral load PCR

OTHER TESTS :

GeneXpert for Molecular TB testing
Paragonimus
Identification of Coccidia (HIV parasites) :
- Isospora Belli
- Cyclospora
- Microsporum

Other Special Tests

GeneXpert: The GeneXpert (molecular testing) machine aides in identifying Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) TB. This particularly has been helping the clinicians in treating pulmonary tuberculosis as well as extrapulmonary tuberculosis. GeneXpert can not only perform molecular testing for TB but also for other infectious diseases like HIV Viral load, HCV Viral load, Chlamydia and Gonorrhea.
Biomerieux Vitek, the automated system for Bacterial Identification and Antibiotic Susceptibility testing not only identifies bacteria but also indicates bacterial resistance like ESBL, Carbapenem resistance, MRSA etc. at a faster turnaround time with MIC. These systems are updated with latest CLSI guidelines so that the data generated are standard, reliable and up-to-date.
Becton Dickinson 9050, an automated analyzer for blood culture and other sterile body fluids helps in indicating whether a blood culture test is positive of bacteriological etiology or not, thus helping in management of patients with fever of unknown origin.
ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay) – Fully automated Work station for infectious diseases like HIV, Hepatitis, TORCH panel at high specificity and sensitivity. Immunological tests like Anti nuclear antibodies, dSDNA and Vitamin D etc.
** ELISA (yet to be scheduled for ANA, dsDNA, TORCH and Vitamin D)