JIPMER equipped with facilities to test samples for zika virus

JIPMER has been equipped with facilities to test samples for zika virus.
The Department of Microbiology in JIPMERwas fully equipped to tackle zika virus through molecular detection of viral RNA, a release from the Director of JIPMER S C Parija said today.
JIPMER is thus among the centres like National Institute of Virology Pune, the National Centre for disease Control New Delhi and a few other institutions in the country which are equipped with facilities to tackle zika virus transmitted by the 'Aedes' mosquito which is also vector for dengue.
He said that zika virus has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by World Health Organisation.

Parija said the samples of all suspected cases zika virus can be sent to the Department of Microbiology which would detect viral RNA using 'reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR).
He said that faculty in the Microbiology department were among those who were trained in the RT PCR for zika virus detection.