Dhangadhi, April 8

Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction machine used for testing many samples of throat swab for COVID-19 at a time has been installed at Veterinary Laboratory Livestock Disease Investigation Laboratory in Dhangadhi.

The installation process started after the government sent the machine to test many samples at a time in Sudurpaschim Province.

The machine was sent via a Nepali Army sky truck today.

Assistant Chief at Province Public Health Laboratory Asmita Sapkota said that installation of the machine had started from today. “The test will gain momentum after the machine is installed,” she added. Sapkota said the machine could test around 400 patients in a day. She informed that the laboratory most probably would start from tomorrow.

Chief of Livestock Disease Investigation Laboratory, Dhangadhi, Tapendra Raj Bohora said that the machine was installed to detect COV- ID-19 patients. He said that the machine has the capacity to carry out 400 tests in a day. Of the three machines in the national laboratory, one was sent to Dhangadi. It is believed that the areas of the test would be expanded after installation of the machine.

Earlier, around five to six throat swab tests have been carried out through PCR on a daily basis at Seti Provincial Hospital, Dhangadhi.

So far four persons have been infected with COV- ID-19 in Dhangadi.

Two PCR machines for Sudurpaschim and health equipment for Doti were brought in the sky truck. The sky truck will return to Kathmandu after collecting throat swabs from Kailali, Kanchanpur and Achham.

The 130 swab collected in Dhangadhi will be taken to Kathmandu in the sky truck.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on April 09, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.