Department of Microbiology

About the Department

Microbiology department existed as part of the Department of Pathology and Bacteriology since 1946. It became an independent Department in the year 1977 under the stewardship of Dr. (Smt.) Prema K. Murti from Feb 1977 to May 1991. During her tenure, post graduate seats for M.D. (Microbiology), M. Sc. (by research) and Ph. D. (Microbiology) were offered for the first time. The department was equipped with modular fluorescent phase contrast microscope, ELISA reader, ultra cold deep freezer and a computer. Photomicrography facility was made available to the entire institution.

Dr. V. V Kale had a brief tenure as Professor & Head from June 1991 to May 1992.

Dr. (Mrs.) G. V. Koppikar was Professor & Head of Microbiology from September 1992 to November 2004.Zonal AIDS Surveillance Center was established & the Lab was participating in High risk sentinel surveillance. Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) commenced during this period and Hospital Infection Control Committee was set up. Additional area was made available in 2004 for Voluntary Confidential Counselling & Testing Center (VCCTC) activity.

Dr. (Mrs.) K. Saraswathi was Professor & Head of Microbiology from December 2004 to September 2006. CD4/CD8 testing facilities are made available since March 2005. She was instrumental in setting up of various sections of the department as per the requirement of MCI. Also she started Emergency lab services for Microbiology in Nair Hospital.

Dr. Jayanthi S. Shastri is currently Professor & Head of the department since October 2006. She takes keen interest in Hospital Infection Control, Automation in Microbiology, activities of Integrated Counseling & Testing Center, External & Internal quality control. The Molecular diagnostic Lab. at Kasturba Infectious Disease Hospital was commissioned under her expert guidance and supervision in April 2007.This lab has been designated regional HIV Reference Laboratory by National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) in 2010.The lab extends HIV Viral load testing to patients before starting 2^nd line ART & HIV DNA PCR as part of Early infant Diagnosis. During her tenure, NABL accreditation of HIV, RSTRRL, Serology and Immunology Labs, Setting up of Immunology & Gene Expert Labs were achieved. Department of Microbiology has been designated Regional Reproductive Tract Infections/Sexually Transmitted Infections (RTI/STI)Testing, Training, Research & Reference (RSTRRL) by National AIDS Control Organization in February 2015.Through this lab etiological diagnosis of RTI/STI in high risk & low risk patients is made possible. Viral Research Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) under the DHR scheme of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was established at Kasturba Hospital in 2019. Genome sequencing centre for outbreak preparedness and epidemiology inaugurated on 4^th August 2021 at Kasturba Hospital. Centre for Excellence in Immunology Research MCGM and TATA initiative in collaboration with ICMR- NIRRH inaugurated on 4^th September 2021.

The Department of Microbiology offers diagnostic services for infectious diseases through its different divisions viz Bacteriology, Mycobacteriology, Mycology, Parasitology, Serology, and Immunology including ICTC and RTI/STI. COVID-19 diagnostic services including Rapid Antigen testing and 24x7 TRUENAT testing is offered by the department. Apart from these divisions, the department also offers emergency laboratory services for processing specimens of emergency nature or from seriously ill patients. This laboratory is operational after routine hours. The department is NABL accredited as per ISO 15189: 2012 for all the serological and immunological tests.

Faculty

Dr GITANJALI GANESH PEVEKAR

Senior Resident

Dr Reena Set

Professor and Head

Nayana Ingole

Additional professor

Dr Nishat Khan

Associate Professor

Dr. Swapna Mali

Associate Professor

Dr. Sachee Agrawal

Associate Professor

Dr Sandhya Sawant

Associate Professor (Additional)

Dr Sneha Phulsunge

Assistant Professor

Dr Pradnya Gaikwad

Assistant Professor

Dr.Vaishnavi Madavi

Assistant Professor

Dr. Nirjhar Chatterjee

Assistant Professor, Contract

Dr Mithila Marathe

Assistant Professor

Dr. Mayuri Zende

Assistant Professor

Dr. Geetanjali Sakhare

Assistant professor

Research and Publications

Research and Research Grant
Sr.No	Title of the Research	Name of the grant-giving agency	Period  starting date/month/ye ar and ending date/month/ye ar
1..	Investigation of Integrin alpha4beta7 expressing immune cells in Sexually Transmitted Infections/reproductive tract infections (STIs/RTIs) and HIV		February 2017
2.	National Surveillance system for enteric fever in India, Tertiary care surveillance (Tier3)	Welcome trust & Gates Foundation	November 2017- March 2020
3.	A Multicentric Hospital Based study on Epidemiology of Epidemic Keratoconjunctivitis in India	ICMR	December2017  December 2020
4.	Comprehensive Omics approach for the identification of surrogate markers in Dengue fever	IIT Mumbai	December-2017
5	Role of Multiplex PCR in diagnosis of Acute encephalitis syndrome among adults in a tertiary care centre	Department Development Fund	January 2018 October 2019
6	Human Papilloma Virus Infection and Concomitant STIs among Female Sex Workers in Mumbai	Mumbai District AIDS Control Society	January 2018- September 2019
7	Validation of MulGlobTMrRT- PCR Multiplex test for detection of Dengue, Chikungunya, Malaria and Leptospira in a single Reaction	Globavir Sciences	June 2018
8	Evaluation of Malaria Rapid Tests (malaria ag Pf and malaria antigen Pf/Pv)	Advy Chemicals	September2018
9	Whole Genome Sequencing and Genome Characterization of Dengue viruses of clinical samples using next generation sequencing	NCBS, Bengaluru	September2018
10	Multi Centric study Translational Research Consortium on Chikungunya	Manipal Centre for Virus Research with BIRAC-Biopharma mission of DBT, Govt of India	2020
11	Mycoplasma genitalium infection  detection, cure rate and coinfection in women attending STD clinics with lower genital tract infection using real time PCR	NIRRH	2020
11	An integrated approach towards delineating determinants of viral pathology and disease progression of SARS-CoV-2 infection	BMC TATA Plasma Research Project in collaboration with NIRRH ICMR	2021





































































































































Publications


Year 2018

1. Bankar S, Set R, Sharma D, Shah D, Shastri J. Diagnostic accuracy of Xpert MTB/RIF assay in extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Indian journal of medical microbiology. 2018 Nov 1;36(3):357-63.

2. Badhuli Samal, Nishat Khan, Jayanthi Shastri Comparative Evaluation Of Prevalence Of Bacterial Vaginosis Among Gynaecology Outpatients With Patients With High Risk Behaviour, International Journal Of Scientific Research; Volume-7, Issue-1, January-2018, ISSN No 2277 8179, Pg 361- 362

3.Mankiru Laloo, Nishat Khan, Baduli Samal, Jayanthi Shastri. Sociodemography and seroprevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and Herpes Simplex virus infections among RTI/STI clinic attendees from a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai. Med PulseInternational Journal of Microbiology. January 2018;5 (1): 01-07.

4.Veeraraghavan Balaji,1 Arti Kapil,2 Jayanthi Shastri,3 Agila Kumari Pragasam,1 Geeta Gole,3 Sirshendu Choudhari,1 Gagandeep Kang,4 and Jacob John1 * 1 Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India; 2 All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India; 3 TN Medical College & B Y L Nair Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; 4 Translational Health Sciences Technology Institute, Faridabad, Haryana, India. . Longitudinal Typhoid Fever Trends in India from 2000 to 2015 Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 99 (Suppl 3), 2018, pp. 17.

5. Nagral N, Joshi V, Baria K, Parikh P, Nagral A, Shastri J, Pawar C. Prevalencia de la hepatitis no A/E en Mumbai, India. Revista de Gastroenterolog a del Per. 2018 Jan;38(1):49-53.

6.Sahay RR, Yadav PD, Majumdar T, Patil S, Sarkale P, Shete AM, Chaubal G, Dange VR, Patil S, Nyayanit DA, Shastri J. Clinico-epidemiological investigation on Varicella Zoster Virus indicates multiple clade circulation in Maharashtra state, India. Heliyon. 2018 Aug 1;4(8):e00757.

7.Set R, Bankar S, Sharma D, Shah D, Shastri J. Performance of Xpert MTB/RIF for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance in pus aspirates. Indian Journal of Tuberculosis. 2019 Oct 1;66(4):433-6.

8.Khude N, Dash L, Save S, Samal B, Shastri J. Rotavirus in diarrhoeic children under-five attending a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai, India. International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics. 2018 Sep;5(5):1863.

9.Khan N, Samal B, Shastri J. Seroprevalence Of Syphilis And Co-Infections With Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis C Virus And Hiv In A Tertiary Care Hospital In Mumbai.

Year 2019

1.Set R, Bankar S, Sharma D, Shah D, Shastri J. Performance of Xpert MTB/RIF for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance in pus aspirates. Indian Journal of Tuberculosis. 2019 Oct 1;66(4):433-6.

2.Sharma D, Set R, Bankar S,Shastri JS. Drug resistance pattern in new and previously treated cases ofpulmonary tuberculosis patients at a tertiary care centre in Mumbai. International Journal of scientific research May 2019; 8 (5): 57-59.

3.Phudang R, Vasant P, Jayanthi S. Clinico-mycological study of dermatophytosis and dermatomycosis in tertiary care hospital. Int J Curr Microbiol App Sci. 2019 Jan 20;8(1):1297-306.

4.Nishat Khan, Nirjhar Chatterjee, Jayanthi Shastri, Arpita Singh, Padmaja Keskar. Study of vaginal Discharge in patients attending a tertiary care hospital, Mumbai. International Journal of Scientific Research. Vol 8 Issue 6 April 2019 61-64.

5.Disha Sharma,Reena Set,Sheetal Bankar,Jayanthi Shastri. Drug Resistance Patterns in New and Previously Treated Cases of Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients at A Tertiary Care Centre in Mumbai. Int. J. Sci. Res. Vol 8 Issue 5 May 2019 57-59.

6.Nishat Khan, Manoj Vedpathak, Jayanthi Shastri, Latika Shivkar, Srikala Acharya, Padmaja Keskar. Coinfection of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and Syphilis among HIV Positive Patients on Antiretroviral therapy. International Journal of Scientific Research. Vol 8 Issue 6 June 2019 61-64.

7.Lahiri S, Venkataraman R, Jagan A, Deshmukh G, Patra S, Reddy V, Sangeetha V, Solanki R, Gupta J, Patel K, De A. Evaluation of LAMP-based assays for carbapenemase genes. Journal of Medical Microbiology. 2019 Oct 1;68(10):1431-7.

8.J Shastri, R Set, D Shah. PS-27-791-01 Diagnostic accuracy of Xpert MTB/RIF assay for detection of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. The International Journal of Tuberculosis And Lung Diseases Vol 23 No 10 November 2019 Suppl 1.

9.Deshpande A, Dash L, Pandya JS, Zende M. Salmonella paratyphi A infection presenting as breast abscess. BMJ Case Reports CP. 2019 Apr 1;12(4):e228887.

Year 2020

1.Shastri J, Parikh S, Agarwal S, Chatterjee N, Pathak M, Sharma C, Kanakan A, Srinivasa Vasudevan J, Maurya R, Fatihi S, Thukral L. Whole genome sequencing confirmed SARS-CoV-2 reinfections among healthcare workers in India with increased severity in the second episode.

2.Gupta s, Agrawal s, Shastri J. Dengue and Chikungunya Mono and Co-infections among Patients with Acute Febrile Illness. Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research. 2020 Oct 1;14(10).

3.Malani A, Shah D, Kang G, Lobo GN, Shastri J, Mohanan M, Jain R, Agrawal ST, Juneja S, Imad S, Kolthur-Seetharam U. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in slums and non-slums of Mumbai, India, during June 29-July 19, 2020. medRxiv. 2020 Jan 1.

4.Nishat Khan, Sachee Agrawal, Jayanthi Shastri. Seroprevalence of SARS CoV-2 among Healthcare workers in a Mumbai tertiary care Hospital. GLOBAL JOURNAL FOR RESEARCH ANALYSIS. VOLUME - 9, ISSUE - 12, DECEMBER - 2020.

5.Samal B, Padekar H, Dash L, Shastri J. Prevalence of inducible clindamycin resistance among Staphylococcus aureus isolates from a tertiary care hospital. IP int j med microbiol trop dis. 2020;6(3):1614.

6.Gupta N, Potdar V, Praharaj I, Giri S, Sapkal G, Yadav P, Choudhary ML, Dar L, Sugunan AP, Kaur H, Munivenkatappa A. , Jayanthi Shastri Laboratory preparedness for SARS-CoV-2 testing in India: Harnessing a network of virus research & diagnostic laboratories. The Indian journal of medical research. 2020 Feb;151(2-3):216.

7.Shastri A, Wheat J, Agrawal S, Chaterjee N, Pradhan K, Goldfinger M, Kornblum N, Steidl U, Verma A, Shastri J. Delayed clearance of SARS-CoV2 in male compared to female patients: high ACE2 expression in testes suggests possible existence of gender-specific viral reservoirs. MedRxiv. 2020 Jan 1.;

8.Sapkal G, Shete-Aich A, Jain R, Yadav PD, Sarkale P, Lakra R, Baradkar S, Deshpande GR, Mali D, Tilekar BN, Majumdar T. Jayanthi Shastri Development of indigenous IgG ELISA for the detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG. The Indian journal of medical research. 2020 May;151(5):444.

9.Agarwal A, Mukherjee A, Kumar G, Chatterjee P, Bhatnagar T, Malhotra P. Convalescent plasma in the management of moderate covid-19 in adults in India: open label phase II multicentre randomised controlled trial (PLACID Trial). bmj. 2020 Oct 22;371.

Year 2021


1.  Potdar V, Vipat V, Ramdasi A, Jadhav S, Pawar-Patil J, Walimbe A, Patil SS, Choudhury ML, Shastri J, Agrawal S, Pawar S. Phylogenetic classification of the whole-genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 from India & evolutionary trends. The Indian journal of medical research. 2021 Jan;153(1-2):166.

Academic Activity

Academic Activity

Undergraduate teaching 

1) Lectures are held for undergraduate (M.B.B.S., B.D.S., O.T., P.T., DMLT., BPMT., Nursing) students. Practical tutorials are held for undergraduate (M.B.B.S., B.D.S., D.M.L.T., BPMT students).

Post Graduate Teaching

1) Post-graduate seminars/Journal Review are held twice every week. Post graduates participate in Seminars, Symposium and Inter-college meetings.

2) All the teaching faculty takes active part in these presentations & guide the post graduate students.

Microbiology Department is recognized for M.D. Microbiology under MUHS, Nashik.

Awards and Achievements

Awards


1	Dr Manali Kedia, Resident, 2nd Prize: Oral Presentation: at 24thMaharashtra State Chapter Conference, MAHAMICROCON 2018 at KIMS, Karad, September 2018
2	Dr Manali Kedia, Resident, 2nd Prize at P. G. Assembly Quiz Competition held at H. N. Reliance Hospital Mumbai in July 2019
3	Dr Manali Kedia, Resident, 1st Prize in Quiz at 510th Teaching Pathologists and Microbiologists Meeting at T. N. Medical College and Nair Hospital in September 2019
4	Dr. Nirjhar Chatterjee- IAMM Dr. S. R. Sengupta & Dr. A. M. Saoji Memorial Prize- 2019 Best Paper in immunology titled Neonatal Sepsis: Role of IL6 and TNF in rapid diagnosis and its comparison with automated blood culture for Oral Presentation at 43rd MICROCON Conference In November 2019 at Mumbai
5	Dr. Manoj Vedpathak- 2nd prize, oral presentation titled Molecular Insights and Predictors of severe Dengue Infection, a study from a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai category- clinical virology, at 43rd MICROCON Conference In November 2019 at Mumbai
6	Dr. Sandhya Jangir- 2nd prize, poster presentation, titled Serum markers of Hepatitis B infection among HIV infected patients and its correlation with CD4 counts: a study from a tertiary care hospital category- clinical immunology, at 43rd MICROCON Conference In November 2019 at Mumbai

Gallery

Location