logo
BHU's viral research laboratory achieves NABL accreditation for excellence in diagnostics

BHU's viral research laboratory achieves NABL accreditation for excellence in diagnostics

Time of India3 days ago
VARANASI: The Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) at the Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), was awarded NABL accreditation under ISO 15189:2012 standards for medical laboratories by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
According to the BHU spokesperson, this prestigious accreditation recognises the laboratory's ongoing commitment to quality, accuracy, and excellence in diagnostic services and research. The VRDL played a crucial role in viral disease surveillance and diagnostics, particularly during critical periods, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
This achievement was made possible under the leadership of Prof. Gopal Nath, Principal Investigator, and Prof. Pradyot Prakash, Co-Principal Investigator, along with the dedicated efforts of the entire scientific and technical team, including Dr.
Sudhir
Kumar Singh, Dr. Alka Shukla, Dr.
Manoj Kumar
, Dr. Mayank Gangwar (shifted to ICMR headquarters), Deepak Kumar, Sonam Rastogi, Digvijay Singh, Pankaj Kumar, Ashish R. Singh, and Ajay Kumar.
The NABL accreditation reinforces IMS-BHU's unwavering dedication to upholding international standards in laboratory diagnostics and public health services.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Egyptian Conservators Restore King Tutankhamun's Treasures For New Museum
Egyptian Conservators Restore King Tutankhamun's Treasures For New Museum

NDTV

timean hour ago

  • NDTV

Egyptian Conservators Restore King Tutankhamun's Treasures For New Museum

As a teenager, Eid Mertah would pore over books about King Tutankhamun, tracing hieroglyphs and dreaming of holding the boy pharaoh's golden mask in his hands. Years later, the Egyptian conservator found himself gently brushing centuries-old dust off one of Tut's gilded ceremonial shrines -- a piece he had only seen in textbooks. "I studied archaeology because of Tut," Mertah, 36, told AFP. "It was my dream to work on his treasures -- and that dream came true." Mertah is one of more than 150 conservators and 100 archaeologists who have laboured quietly for over a decade to restore thousands of artefacts ahead of the long-awaited opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) -- a $1 billion project on the edge of the Giza Plateau. Originally slated for July 3, the launch has once again been postponed -- now expected in the final months of the year -- due to regional security concerns. The museum's opening has faced delays over the years for various reasons, ranging from political upheaval to the Covid-19 pandemic. But when it finally opens, the GEM will be the world's largest archaeological museum devoted to a single civilisation. It will house more than 100,000 artefacts, with over half on public display, and will include a unique feature: a live conservation lab. From behind glass walls, visitors will be able to watch in real time as experts work over the next three years to restore a 4,500-year-old boat buried near the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu and intended to ferry his soul across the sky with the sun god Ra. But the star of the museum remains King Tut's collection of more than 5,000 objects -- many to be displayed together for the first time. Among them are his golden funeral mask, gilded coffins, golden amulets, beaded collars, ceremonial chariots and two mummified foetuses believed to be his stillborn daughters. 'Puzzle of gold' Many of these treasures have not undergone restoration since British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered them in 1922. The conservation methods used by Carter's team were intended to protect the objects, but over a century later, they have posed challenges for their modern-day successors. Coating gold surfaces in wax, for instance, "preserved the objects at the time", said conservator Hind Bayoumi, "but it then hid the very details we want the world to see". For months, Bayoumi, 39, and her colleagues painstakingly removed the wax applied by British chemist Alfred Lucas, which had over decades trapped dirt and dulled the shine of the gold. Restoration has been a joint effort between Egypt and Japan, which contributed $800 million in loans and provided technical support. Egyptian conservators -- many trained by Japanese experts -- have led cutting-edge work across 19 laboratories covering wood, metal, papyrus, textiles and more. Tut's gilded coffin -- brought from his tomb in Luxor -- proved one of the most intricate jobs. At the GEM's wood lab, conservator Fatma Magdy, 34, used magnifying lenses and archival photos to reassemble its delicate gold sheets. "It was like solving a giant puzzle," she said. "The shape of the break, the flow of the hieroglyphs -- every detail mattered." - Touching history - Before restoration, the Tutankhamun collection was retrieved from several museums and storage sites, including the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, the Luxor Museum and the tomb itself. Some items were given light restoration before their relocation to ensure they could be safely moved. Teams first conducted photographic documentation, X-ray analysis and material testing to understand each item's condition before touching it. "We had to understand the condition of each piece -- the gold layers, the adhesives, wood structure -- everything," said Mertah, who worked on King Tut's ceremonial shrines at the Egyptian Museum. Fragile pieces were stabilised with Japanese tissue paper -- thin but strong -- and adhesives like Paraloid B-72 and Klucel G, both reversible and minimally invasive. The team's guiding philosophy throughout has been one of restraint. "The goal is always to do the least amount necessary -- and to respect the object's history," said Mohamed Moustafa, 36, another senior restorer. Beyond the restoration work, the process has been an emotional journey for many of those involved. "I think we're more excited to see the museum than tourists are," Moustafa said. "When visitors walk through the museum, they'll see the beauty of these artefacts. But for us, every piece is a reminder of the endless working hours, the debates, the trainings." "Every piece tells a story."

If Vaccines Hadn't Saved Us From Covid-19, We Wouldn't Be Here To Question Heart Attacks
If Vaccines Hadn't Saved Us From Covid-19, We Wouldn't Be Here To Question Heart Attacks

News18

time3 hours ago

  • News18

If Vaccines Hadn't Saved Us From Covid-19, We Wouldn't Be Here To Question Heart Attacks

Last Updated: There is no conclusive proof that Covid vaccines directly caused a spike in heart attacks but we can't ignore that Covid-19 itself has left behind a legacy of cardiovascular damage The rise in heart-related complications and sudden deaths post-Covid-19 has triggered several debates, especially around the role of vaccines. Social media amplifies claims—often anecdotal, rarely scientific—linking Covid-19 vaccines to cardiac issues. But here's a fundamental question: If these vaccines hadn't been developed in record time, would we have even lived long enough to speculate on their side effects? The latest debate was triggered by a post on the social media platform X, where Karnataka's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote on July 1: 'In the past month alone, in just one district of Hassan, more than twenty people have died due to heart attacks. The government is taking this matter very seriously… It cannot be denied that the hasty approval and distribution of the Covid vaccine to the public could also be a reason for these deaths, as several studies worldwide have recently indicated that COVID vaccines could be a cause for the increasing number of heart attacks…" In response, what we saw throughout last week was a coordinated and deliberate effort from the Centre, leading medical institutions, and vaccine manufacturers to rebuild and reinforce public confidence in Covid-19 vaccines. Siddaramaiah's claim was strongly rebutted, not only by government-run institutions but also by top pharmaceutical executives, researchers, and well-known doctors. Sample this: The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA)—the lobby of domestic pharmaceutical companies representing Sun Pharma, Glenmark, Lupin, Cipla and many others—issued a strong statement supporting Covid-19 vaccines. Industry leaders like Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon and Samir Mehta of Torrent Pharma also publicly backed vaccine safety and dismissed the unfounded claims. Top doctors from AIIMS and scientists at ICMR have taken to public platforms to bust myths and explain the science, stressing that panic must not replace facts. The Serum Institute of India (SII)—manufacturer of India's poster boy vaccine Covishield—also reaffirmed that Covid-19 vaccines are safe, scientifically validated, and critical in saving lives. Given that over 170 crore doses of Covishield have been administered out of the 200+ crore total vaccine doses in India, this clarification is not just welcome but vital. These clarifications were essential in addressing the growing public anxiety around sudden cardiac deaths, particularly among younger people. While these incidents are tragic and deserve a detailed investigation, the Union government has made it unequivocally clear: these deaths should not be automatically linked to Covid-19 vaccination. Let's understand this scientifically. As of today, there is no conclusive evidence that Covid-19 vaccines directly caused a spike in heart attacks or sudden cardiac arrests in India. However, we must not ignore a crucial truth: Covid-19 itself has left behind a legacy of cardiovascular damage. The virus is known to inflame blood vessels and affect heart muscle tissue. A 2022 study in Nature Medicine found a 63 per cent higher risk of heart attack in patients within a year of Covid infection. Multiple global studies, including those published in respected medical journals such as The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine, have shown that the risk of myocarditis and other heart complications is higher after a Covid-19 infection than after vaccination. A study conducted by the Indian Journal of Medical Research—a peer-reviewed publication supported by ICMR—concluded that Covid-19 vaccination was not associated with an increased risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults. On the contrary, the study documented that vaccination reduced the risk of unexplained sudden death in this age group. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) have reiterated that adverse events following immunisation (AEFIs) remain extremely rare. India's official AEFI data shows less than 0.01 per cent serious reactions among the more than 2.2 billion doses administered. Add to this another critical factor: Indians are more genetically susceptible to heart diseases than Western populations. According to a Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia study published in February 2023, the cardiovascular burden in India is higher than the global average. The age-standardised death rate globally is 233 deaths per 1,00,000, while for India it is 282 per 1,00,000. Yet, unfounded narratives continue to gain traction—some fuelled by misinformation, others by genuine grief seeking answers in a complex post-pandemic landscape. What the available evidence shows is that vaccines, by reducing the severity and spread of the virus, likely played a role in limiting long-term cardiovascular consequences. They weren't just about immediate survival—they bought us time and prevented the invisible wave of complications that continues to unfold. Even if science someday finds a small causal link between certain vaccines and rare cardiac events, we must remember: public health is about trade-offs. During a pandemic, decisions must be made under pressure, aiming to save as many lives as possible. Vaccines were not perfect and they were never claimed to be. What they were, and remain, is effective and life-saving on a population scale. It's also essential to acknowledge the wider ecosystem of risk: lockdown-induced sedentary lifestyles, elevated stress, mental health challenges, and delayed chronic care. And also, the genetic structure of Indians, which is vulnerable to metabolic resistance, hence, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases develop relatively easily. These all contribute to rising cardiac cases—and must be part of the conversation. Blaming vaccines alone oversimplifies a deeply layered issue. top videos View all In short, this is not a defence of pharmaceutical companies or vaccine makers who profited heavily during the pandemic, nor is it a dismissal of the real grief of those who lost loved ones. This is a call for nuance. We need to look at the full picture, not just one side of the story. Let's continue investigating, let's strengthen pharmacovigilance and monitoring across India. Remember, we are alive to debate the side effects because the vaccines worked. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : AIIMS COVID-19 vaccine covishield health matters Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw news18 specials Serum Institute of India Siddaramaiah Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: July 07, 2025, 10:00 IST News india If Vaccines Hadn't Saved Us From Covid-19, We Wouldn't Be Here To Question Heart Attacks

Covid cases decline in Pune after brief rise in May
Covid cases decline in Pune after brief rise in May

Hindustan Times

time3 hours ago

  • Hindustan Times

Covid cases decline in Pune after brief rise in May

After a slight surge in Covid-19 cases in May, Pune city reported a decline in numbers in the month of June, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials said. However, the situation improved in June, with the number of cases decreasing to 68, they said. (FILE) According to PMC officials, in May, the city reported 93 Covid cases, a significant increase after months of very low activity. However, the situation improved in June, with the number of cases decreasing to 68, they said. Furthermore, from January to April this year, Pune had reported just one COVID-19 case, indicating almost no presence of virus circulation in the city during that period. The rise in May was not serious and was handled well due to ongoing health surveillance and prompt response measures, said the civic health officials. 'The increase in May was minor, and there is no reason for concern at this time. Many cases tested positive in private city hospitals were incorrectly reported to be from the PMC limits. We are continuing our surveillance to ensure early detection and control,' said Dr Vaishali Jadhav, assistant health officer, PMC. PMC authorities have urged citizens to stay alert, maintain hygiene, and consult doctors if they experience symptoms. People should avoid panic and instead focus on being cautious, especially people in high-risk categories. Besides, vaccination, timely testing, and responsible behaviour are still important in keeping COVID-19 under control, they said. As per the statement issued by the Public Health Department, on Sunday Maharashtra reported 8 fresh COVID-19 cases. Of which, 2 are from PMC, 5 are from Mumbai and 1 from Kolhapur. Since January 2025, as many as 2577 covid cases and 41 deaths amongst the infected have been reported. Also, the state has a recovery rate of 95.92%. Besides, since January, as many as 2569 covid cases and 41 deaths amongst the infected have been reported. Furthermore, currently, there are 64 active Covid cases in the state. Since January, Mumbai has reported 1012 covid cases, of which the highest 551 cases were reported in June alone, said Dr Sandeep Sangale, joint director of Health Services. Dr Sangale said the number of cases have declined in the state. 'The team is conducting regular surveillance of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARI) patients. Around 5% of ILI patients and all SARI patients are tested for COVID-19. Besides, samples of all positive patients are sent for Whole Genome Sequencing.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store