LUCKNOW: King George’s Medical University (KGMU) on Tuesday became the only institute in the country to have tested the highest number of Covid-19 samples from 2020 till date.
The university’s microbiology department conducted 20 lakh tests till June 2021 through RT-PCR method.
The department, headed by Prof Amita Jain, was also granted the advanced mycology diagnostic and research centre status by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Tuesday.
All research related to fungi, especially around mucormycosis (black fungus), an offshoot of Covid — will be done by the department under the guidance of professor Prashant Gupta.
This mycology centre is the first in Uttar Pradesh, while there are 13 in the country.
“The centre will help in molecular and genetic testing of various fungi.
The level of antifungal drugs in the bloodstream will be gathered through this centre from which the drug dosage can be altered and the negative impact of such drugs can be reduced,” a KGMU official said.
“KGMU has a mycology laboratory but it lacks advanced technology.
With it becoming an ICMR-approved full-fledged centre now, technology and machinery will be upgraded in the lab.
This will help us to study the different aspects of fungi and diseases caused by it such as mucormycosis.
The time taken to decipher the mechanism of fungi and research for drugs to be used will also get shorter,” said Prof Amita Jain.
KGMU spokesperson Prof Sudhir Singh said, “The achievement of 20 lakh tests since February 2020 became possible because of the staff, lab technicians, scientists and research students of the department, many of whom continued the work despite contracting Covid.”