ABBOTTABAD: The provincial government has provided a manual polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine to Ayub Teaching Hospital for the laboratory tests of Covid-19 whereas the automatic machine has shifted to Swat, according to sources.

They said that PCR machine installed in Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad was manual that caused exposure of laboratory health to possible infection. They said that the much publicised automatic PCR machine provided by National Disaster Management Authority was shifted to Swat, the home district of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.

Sources said that even the manual machine was provided to ATH by the government after it faced severe criticism. They said that automatic PCR machine could save the laboratory staff from infection. By using the manual PCR machine, the staff was exposed to infection, they added.

Dr Ahsan Aurangzeb, the medical director of the hospital, said they did not have auto-extractor along with PCR machine. He said that the laboratory had so far conducted 806 tests and 66 of the positive cases belonged to Hazara division.

Dr Naeema Afzal, the head of pathology department, when contacted, also confirmed installation of manual PCR machine. She said that they were following the infection control guidelines of World Health Organisation.

She told that minimum people were involved in the testing process with strictly observing of properly isolation and quarantine protocols.

Meanwhile, experts have said that Covid-19 cases are on the rise among healthcare professionals including paramedics and doctors as they have not versed in handling pathogenic and infectious microorganisms.

Talking to journalists, head of community medicine at Ayub Medical College Prof Salim Wazir and Dr Ayub Jadoon said that the entire country had to work together to control the pandemic.

They said that doctors, nurses, paramedics and other health workers should be in good spirit and well protected to treat the patients. The responsibility to fight the multi dimensional war lied with the government and public health experts, they added.

“In fact public health experts have to lead at federal, provincial and hospital levels. Virologists are required to supervise the PCR testing. Virologists and immunologists will be required to examine the virus and develop vaccine for prevention of Covid-19 and antibodies for treatment of the disease. At the moment there is urgent need to deploy molecular biology biotechnologists at all those places where PCR machines have been installed,” said Prof Salim.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2020