Pune, 10 May 2020

 

Lieutenant General CP Mohanty, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, felicitated the Army COVID warriors at Armed Forces Medical College  on 04 May 20, for their selfless sacrifice and dedication to duty to fight the COVID-19 Pandemic which has caused devastation across the globe.

Armed Forces Medical College under the leadership of Director and Commandant, Lieutenant General Nardeep Naithani is at the forefront and has constituted a COVID 19 Task Force to coordinate and monitor all activities pertaining to contain the pandemic in Pune and areas around. The specialists, medical officers, nursing officers & paramedical staff have undergone special training on various aspects of COVID-19 prevention, control & management.

The Dept of Microbiology of AFMC has been accorded ICMR approval for RT-PCR testing of COVID-19 and has conducted over 3000 tests till date. The lab is also providing assistance to civil authorities by conducting tests for Ahmednagar, Nashik, Satara districts and State Reserve Police Services, Pune. The lab which was initially setup with capacity to test 80 samples per day has been ramped up to conduct 200 tests daily. AFMC is also involved in mentoring various Govt & private medical colleges in the state of Maharashtra to setup SARS CoV-2 RT PCR laboratories in accordance with the mandate given by ICMR & Min of Health & Family Welfare.  

To protect the nations last resort, the Armed Forces personnel AFMC has developed various advisories and guidelines to prevent, control and treat COVID19 infection based on best scientific evidence available worldwide. A large amount of resource material has been developed which includes posters and pamphlets on  screening, testing and treatment protocols, guidelines for contact tracing, protocol for disinfection and rational use of PPE.

Army Institute for Cardio Thoracic Sciences (AICTS) has been designated as COVID hospital for Pune & Kirkee Garrison wherein AFMC is actively involved in patient care.

Multiple extramural and intramural research projects in relation to COVID19 pandemic are also being undertaken in collaboration with various institutions. Few of the research activities include participation in WHO SOLIDARITY clinical trials that compares four treatment protocols, developing virus specific antibodies by isolating B memory cells , use of convalescent COVID plasma (CCP) as a therapeutic option for severe patients.

Southern Command commends the efforts of all these valiant COVID-19 warriors for their stellar role in combating the pandemic and assures of its full support to save mankind.

 

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M.Iyenger/D.Rane

 

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