JAMMU: In a significant move in its fight to curtail the Corona pandemic, Government Medical College Jammu started antibody testing for Coronavirus by the high end fully automated electrochemiluminescence technique in the Department of Biochemistry GMC Jammu. Prof. (Dr) A S Bhatia, Head Department of Biochemistry disclosed that antibody testing has been started on the directions of Financial Commissioner Health and Medical Education Atal Dulloo, who monitored the whole process of starting Covid IgG antibodies along with Covid Biomarkers like Interleukin 6, D Dimer, Procalcitonin etc in GMC Jammu for the benefit of poor patients admitted in different Covid Care Centres of the region. Dr Bhatia also expressed his gratitude to Director National Health Mission, Bhupinder Kumar for his support and financial assistance. He further added that the Principal and Dean GMC Jammu, Dr Shashi Sudan Sharma took a keen interest in starting these novel investigations and accelerated the process for the benefit of poor patients admitted in the Govt run tertiary care hospital. These tests will go a long way in surveillance of general population as well as persons working on the forefront including health care workers. The population with high level of antibodies is presumed to have developed immunity as compared to population with low seroprevalence, which will be more vulnerable to corona pandemic including second and subsequent waves; hence more restrictions will be required in areas with population having low seropositivity. The HoD Biochemistry added that Financial commissioner, HME has enquired and directed them to explore the possibilities of expanding the scope of this testing to the peripheral hospitals to benefit the patients of remote and hilly region. Dr Bhatia said that in the first day itself, about 28 sample of RT PCR positive patients were received from Blood bank through their HoD Dr Meena Sidhu, and to the pleasure surprise of all technical staff out of 28 Covid positive samples 22(78.57%) persons were found to have significant levels of antibodies whereas 6 out of 28(21.43%) were not having significant levels of Ig G covid antibodies. With this encouraging initial findings, Dr Bhatia said once this technique is applied to HCWs and general population, it will prove to be a guiding force in formulating health policies by the administration in their fight to rein the corona pandemic.
