Testing facilities
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Subject: Science and tech
Context:
Prime minister has virtually launched COVID-19 testing facilities in Noida, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Concept:
- These facilities will ramp up testing capacity in the country and help in strengthening early detection and treatment, thus assisting in controlling the spread of the pandemic.
- These labs will also reduce turn-around-time and exposure of lab personnel to infectious clinical materials.
- The labs are enabled to test diseases other than COVID as well, and post the pandemic, will be able to test for Hepatitis B and C, HIV, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Cytomegalovirus, Chlamydia, Neisseria, Dengue, etc.
Cytomegalovirus
- Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus for people of all ages; however, a healthy person’s immune system usually keeps the virus from causing illness.
- Once CMV is in a person’s body, it stays there for life and can reactivate.
- A person can also be re-infected with a different strain (variety) of the virus.
- Most people with CMV infection have no symptoms and aren’t aware that they have been infected.
- People with weakened immune systems who get CMV can have more serious symptoms affecting the eyes, lungs, liver, esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
- Babies born with CMV can have brain, liver, spleen, lung, and growth problems. The most common long-term health problem in babies born with congenital CMV infection is hearing loss, which may be detected soon after birth or may develop later in childhood.
Chlamydia
- Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by bacteria. People who have chlamydia often don’t have outward symptoms in the early stages.
- In fact, about 90 percent of women and 70 percent of men with the STI have no symptoms. But chlamydia can still cause health problems later.
- Untreated chlamydia can cause serious complications.