Bauchi Molecular Laboratory Handles 8,000 COVID-19 Samples In 2 Years

Two years after it was constructed with funding from the COVID-19 intervention fund, the Molecular, Genetics and Infectious Diseases Research/ Diagnostic Laboratory of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi (ATBUTH) has processed over 8,000 COVID-19 test samples.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the samples were received from states in the Northeast and North Central.

The chief medical director of ATBUTH, Professor Yusuf Jibrin Bara disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent in Bauchi.

 “This facility was established in June 2020 and funded from the special COVID-19 intervention fund and ATBU through TETfund. The laboratory is among the NCDC-accredited laboratory network for COVID-19 testing. It has a testing capacity of about 200 suspected samples per day.

“As of today, over 8000 suspected COVID-19 samples were processed at the facility,” he said.

The chief medical director said during the COVID-19 pandemic when there was a total shortage of oxygen supply in the country, the hospital management came up with an oxygen plant to address the challenge of oxygen demand of the  hospital.

He said some part of the COVID-19 intervention fund were utilised to purchase a cryogenic oxygen plant which can produce liquid oxygen and a capacity of 1600m³ (equivalent to 245 cylinders) of gaseous oxygen per day.

Bara added, “In addition, the FH1360 which is a USAID-funded NGO in collaboration with the federal ministry of health had selected our hospital to be among the beneficiary of 20,000litres capacity cryogenic liquid oxygen tank which can be utilized to store the excess liquid Oxygen produced.”

He said the oxygen plant can supply Medical Oxygen to the entire Northeast region at a much lower rate than what is currently obtained in from private suppliers.