Meet the virologist to give India its first COVID-19 testing kit

From industrialist Anand Mahindra to actor Soni Razdan, thousands of people are celebrating the efforts of Minal Dakhave Bhosale. Minal is the virologist behind India’s first coronavirus or COVID-19 testing kit.

According to media reports, Minal is the chief of research and development of Mylab Discovery in Pune. This is the first Indian firm to get the full approval to make and sell coronavirus testing kits. Mylab has created a kit that can test 100 samples and costs 1,200 rupees, which is a quarter of the cost of the COVID-19 testing kits that India has been importing from abroad.

Minal headed the team that designed the coronavirus testing kit. The kit is called Patho Detect. She started working on it just days after leaving the hospital with a pregnancy complication in February. She managed to submit the kit for testing to the National Institute of Virology, a day before she gave birth to her daughter.

Minal said to the media, “It was an emergency, so I took this on as a challenge. I have to serve my nation. We have achieved COVID-19 testing in only two-and-a-half hours compared to other tests which are six-seven hours. We did this by utilising our expertise of development processes and FAST mode acting reagents”.

Minal’s story was shared by actor Soni Razdan on Instagram, who called her India’s real Shero. Anand Mahindra, who pledged to help in the fight against the pandemic by manufacturing ventilators and converting Mahindra resorts into care facilities, also applauded her.

Ms Bhosale, you delivered not just the test kit and your baby, but you also delivered a ray of hope to the country. We stand and salute you”.

Over 900 people have contracted COVID-19 in India.

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