Workshop - NUCSER

Workshop on Diagnosis and Epidemiology of Arboviruses with focus on Dengue and Chikungunya supported by Karnataka State Science and Technology Academy at Nitte Centre for Science Education and Research

A hands-on training workshop was held at Nitte Centre for Science Education and Research from 11th – 13th December 2017. A Total of 17 postgraduate students were provided hands-on training on the diagnosis of Arboviruses with focus on dengue and chikungunya, which are a major public health problem in coastal Karnataka. The Faculty, who delivered lectures, included 5 scientists from Griffith University, Australia, one scientist from Manipal Centre for Virus Research, Manipal and 8 faculties from Nitte University. After lectures on general laboratory safety considerations and basic techniques in cell culture, maintenance of cell lines, cryopreservation of cell lines, the revival of frozen cell lines, the students did plating of cells, viable cell counting by dye exclusion method. The students then prepared virus stocks for preservation and inoculated clinical samples to cell lines for virus isolation and propagation. Then they titrated the virus by plaque assay. The students also performed molecular assays like extraction of viral RNA from serum samples and c-DNA synthesis, multiplex reverse transcriptase PCR for the detection and serotyping of dengue virus, multiplex real time-PCR for the detection of dengue and chikungunya virus, fluorescent foci assay and immunofluorescence assay. As required by KSTA, the student participants were evaluated with a multiple choice question paper and were awarded prizes.