The Sir Ronald Ross Institute for Tropical and Communicable Diseases is setting up a full-fledged laboratory offering wide-ranging diagnosis of various viral diseases. With the establishment of this lab, there will be no need to send samples to laboratories like the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Lucknow, or the Institute of Virology, Pune, whenever a scare such as Japanese Encephalitis or when the latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) breaks out.

Construction work on the advanced virology lab has already started and is expected to be completed in the next few days. Of the estimated cost for the laboratory, about Rs 5 lakh is being spent on civic works while the rest will be spent on the latest equipment.

According to Dr K N Sudha Ramana, Superintendent of the Institute, a 'biological safety cabinet,' a sterile workstation that does away with the risk of the staff getting exposed to any deadly viruses they might have to work with, is being imported from the US. She expressed confidence that the lab would become operational within one month with orders already placed for procurement of the equipment.

Dr Achyut Rao, Professor of Microbiology, said the laboratory would equip itself with rapid diagnostic methods such as Serological and Polymerised Chain Reaction that provide reports within 48 hours. "We already have Dengue fever kits and once the laboratory is set up we will procure other kits for JE, measles and mumps. The lab will also be equipped with individual primers, chemicals and reagents for the PCR test," Dr Rao said.

Following the reported death of a boy due to dengue fever in the city, health officials have collected blood samples from his neighbourhood and sent them for diagnosis at the Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Tropical and Communicable Diseases. Officials collected samples from 22 persons, including relatives and neighbours of the boy and sent them for investigation.