Resource Use: ‘KEMU PCR machine under-utilised’
Thousands of hepatitis patients were forced to visit private laboratories for tests, says Young doctors
LAHORE:
A Real Time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) machine installed at the Pathology Department of the King Edward Medical University on January 23, 2010, has not been used for a single hepatitis test, Young Doctors Association Pakistan office-bearers said on Saturday. In a statement, Dr Rana Sohail and Dr Salman Kazmi said thousands of hepatitis patients were forced to visit private laboratories for tests. They said there was a dire need for better utilization of the machine as every 10th Pakistanis was suffering from hepatitis B or C. Pathology Department Head Dr Muhammad Munir said: “The machine was provided to the KEMU by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) Atlanta, Georgia, under the National Influenza Laboratory Surveillance programme. The National Institute of Health, Islamabad, was also part of this project. There is an understanding that we will use it only for influenza tests. We cannot do hepatitis tests on it.” The Young Doctors Association office-bearers said there was no such understanding. “We will write to the donors.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2012.
A Real Time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) machine installed at the Pathology Department of the King Edward Medical University on January 23, 2010, has not been used for a single hepatitis test, Young Doctors Association Pakistan office-bearers said on Saturday. In a statement, Dr Rana Sohail and Dr Salman Kazmi said thousands of hepatitis patients were forced to visit private laboratories for tests. They said there was a dire need for better utilization of the machine as every 10th Pakistanis was suffering from hepatitis B or C. Pathology Department Head Dr Muhammad Munir said: “The machine was provided to the KEMU by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) Atlanta, Georgia, under the National Influenza Laboratory Surveillance programme. The National Institute of Health, Islamabad, was also part of this project. There is an understanding that we will use it only for influenza tests. We cannot do hepatitis tests on it.” The Young Doctors Association office-bearers said there was no such understanding. “We will write to the donors.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2012.