Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Rural Medical College - Department of Microbiology

Introduction

The Department of Microbiology with over 1500 Sq meter build up is situated at Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Rural Medical College & Dr Vitthalrao Vikhe Patil Pravara Rural hospital.

The Department was established in July, 1984, Recognized for M.B.B.S in 1988 and for M.D in 2001 by Medical Council of India.

The Department is involved in teaching, diagnostic & research activities.

Microbiology Department teaches various courses- MBBS, M.D, Ph.D (Medical Microbiology), MSc. (Medical Microbiology), DMLT, BDS, BPTh, Post BSc Nursing and BSc Nursing.

Vision

To provide understanding of the natural history of infectious diseases in order to deal with the etiology, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment, control and prevention of infections & infectious diseases.

Mission

1. Imparting quality education and training to future health-care professionals in Microbiology with a view to ensure a sound foundation and to instil knowledge and attitude necessary for lifelong learning.
2. The department strives to provide timely and accurate support where precise and efficient diagnosis can make a difference in patient care and management.
3. High-performance standards in clinical diagnostics are ensured by ongoing Quality Assurance and Quality Control program
4. Emphasis is placed on advancement in the area of scientific research so that we will march with the times.

Department Highlights

Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education

The Department of Microbiology is well equipped with the teaching learning resources as per the guidelines of National Medical Commission for undergraduate and postgraduate courses that are being conducted.

The department houses Museum for undergraduate training with specimens, charts, booklets, models etc. classified as per the sections in Microbiology. The department has 135 microscopes for the students and the Departmental library contains 144 books.

Microbiology Department is well equipped to train the Postgraduate students with good number of the clinical samples for training and research. The college has well established animal house which is approved by CPCSEA. The Department Research laboratory is equipped with modern amenities and equipment such as Trinocular Research Microscope, LED Fluorescent Microscope, Fully Automated ELISA Reader and washer, CO 2 Incubator etc.

Laboratories

The Department of Microbiology has seven fully equipped modern laboratories with automated blood culture (Bact/ALERT 3D) system, Vitek-2 compact instrument, Biosafety cabinets, Laminar air flows, deep freezer, cooling cabinets, cooling centrifuge, air sampler & air purifiers.

The Molecular Laboratory of the Department is a state of art ICMR approved lab which had NABL accreditation during COVID-19 period. The laboratory has RT-PCR, Truenat and fully automated DNA/RNA extractors.

The Mycobacteriology laboratory has sophisticated top of the line CBNAAT/ Gene Xpert machine for accurate diagnosis of Tuberculosis.

The Microbiology laboratory at Central Clinical Laboratory, Dr Vitthalrao Vikhe Patil Pravara Rural hospital provides 24 hrs services. The laboratory is NABL accreditated since July 2026 and has cutting-edge modern equipment such as CLIA (VITROS 3600).

Research Activities

Ongoing:

1. Evaluation of Immunochromatography Test, TRUENAT Polymerase Chain Reaction & ELISA in Clinically Suspected Dengue Case at Tertiary Care Hospital By - Dr. Anishka Patel, Guided by Dr. S. B. Roushani
2. Study of Candida Species Isolates and its Antifungal Susceptibility from Blood Culture Specimens by Using Automated Blood Culture System In a Rural Tertiary Care Hospital, Western Maharashtra. By Dr. Mrunal Bankar, Guided by Dr. Anagha S. Vaidya.
3. Study of Biofilm Production Among MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) Isolate from Pus Samples in a Tertiary Care Hospital. By Dr. Rajashree Padwal, Guided By Dr. S. M. Jain.
4. Molecular Diagnosis of Multidrug Resistant Pulmonary and Extra Pulmonary Tuberculosis in a Rural Tertiary Care Centre. DR. Anagha S. Vaidya.

Completed Research:(2024-2026)

1. Comparative Evalution of Peripheral Blood Smear and Immunochromatographic Test for Malaria Diagnosis in a Rural Tertiary Care Hospital, 2026 By Dr. Anishka Patel, Dr. R. Sinha, Dr. S. B. Roushani, Dr. D. S. Bhalerao, Dr. A. S. Vaidya, Dr. S. M. Jain.
2. Nurse’s experience of using digital support to manage work related Stress at Pravara Rural Hospital; A Phenomenology study, 2025 By Sanjeev Kulkarni.
3. Bacteriological Assessment of drinking water sample from tribal area of Bhandaradara region, Maharashtra India, 2025 By Sanjeev Kulkarni, Dr. A. S. Vaidya, Dr. S. B. Roushani, Dr. D. S. Bhalerao.
4. Study of Definitive Results of TRUENAT PCR Over Open System RT- PCR At Rural center during covid-19 pandemic with specific to inconclusive results, 2024 By Dr. S. B. Roushani, Dr. A. S. Vaidya, Dr. D. S. Bhalerao.
5. A Prospective Study of Seroconversion Post Covisheield Vaccination in Covid, 2024 By Dr. S. B. Roushani, Dr. D. S. Bhalerao, Sanjeev Kulkarni, Dr. A. S. Vaidya.

Thrust Area

1. Hospital Waste management
2. Hospital Infection & Control
3. Post Operative Surgical Wound Infections
4. HIV/ AIDS
5. Tuberculosis