TIMERGARA - Additional director Public Health Reference Lab Khyber Medical University (KMU) Peshawar Associate Professor Dr Asif Ali said that major equipment of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) laboratory Dir Public Health Laboratory had been installed and the lab would hopefully start Covid-19 tests within next four days at Timergara Teaching Hospital (TTH).
Later talking to reporters Dr Asif Ali said Dir Public Health Lab (DPHL) had been provided with more advanced PCR machine than that available at National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad and KMU Peshawar.
“Up to 400 corona tests would be conducted at DPHL on daily basis”, Dr Asif said, adding in the first phase staff of the DPHL would be trained and after comparison of the locally conducted tests with that being conducted at NIH Islamabad, DPHL would start functioning independently.
Dr Asif Ali said, “Health Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had authorized 13 labs in the province, including 9 in public sector hospitals, while 4 in private sector hospitals whereas one PCR lab was being installed in each division across the province.”
He said DPHL would be able to conduct measles, dengue, HIV, Jaundice and other tests and with the installation of PCR lab at TTH, patients from Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Chitral and Bajaur would get the facility of Covid-19 and other tests locally.
“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the only province which had invited the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Institute of Health (NIH) to assess the quality of tests being conducted in public sector labs”, Dr Asif Ali claimed.
