Public Health Laboratories begin functioning in Tiruchi

Tiruchi Corporation has set up two City Public Health Laboratories (CPHL) at Woraiyur and East Boulevard Urban Community Health Centres (UCHC)

Tiruchi Corporation has set up two City Public Health Laboratories (CPHL) at Woraiyur and East Boulevard Urban Community Health Centres (UCHC).

Though the laboratories were inaugurated in December 2023, they remained closed for want of lab technicians for the facilities. However, to make use of the idle equipment and provide services to patients, staff from the Urban Malaria Scheme were shifted to operate the laboratories, said a senior Corporation official.  

The laboratories were set up under the National Urban Health Mission. Each of the laboratories receive approximately 50 samples for testing per day.

The labs are set up to offer services for Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) to detect various infectious and non-infectious diseases and are used to carry out tests to detect diabetes and check for hormonal and lipid levels in patients. They are equipped to carry out water culture tests to predict and prevent water-borne disease outbreaks in the city.

Each of the CPHLs contain equipment worth ₹25 lakh and contain binocular microscopes and automated cell counters to conduct blood smear tests to detect malaria and filaria. Because of the fast-processing capability of 200 samples per kit by the equipment present at the facilities, the labs are vital for early detection and surveillance for communicable and non-communicable diseases among patients, said a senior Corporation health official.