Delegation analyses serological testing

Chandigarh, March 11

Under the aegis of the World Health Organization (WHO), a delegation critically analysed the entire process of serological testing of measles and rubella in the Department of Virology, PGI, and gave their suggestions during their visit here as part of the third external audit.

The Department of Virology became the WHO National Measles Laboratory in 2015 and has been carrying out serological testing of measles and rubella for the adjoining states of Chandigarh (UT), Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The department underwent an external audit in 2016 and 2018, as per the ISO 15189:2012 standards.

To keep up with the ambitious global goal of measles and rubella elimination by 2020, the Department of Virology, in association with the WHO, has been instrumental in outbreak surveillance for the past four years and has also recently initiated case-based surveillance in a phased manner.

An evaluation covering all aspects of testing was done by experts, who appreciated the quality standards being maintained in the department.

The department has again got the status of WHO accreditation for carrying out serology for measles and rubella.

Experts also visited the molecular lab of the department and after WHO approval, the department shall also be providing molecular facility for the detection of measles and rubella nucleic acid from the clinical samples as part of outbreak confirmation. — TNS