NIV - Bacteriology Group

Bacteriology Group

This group was established in 2017 with a mandate to focus on respiratory and diarrheal disease. The group provides laboratory support for detection and characterization of bacterial agents of diarrheal disease referred from hospitals and outbreak settings. The group has established facility for diagnosis and isolation of Bordetella pertussis, parapertussis and holmesii. The group has expertise for detection and characterization of antimicrobial resistance particularly in Gram negative bacilli. The group scientists have expertise in outbreak investigation of acute diarrheal disease, medical and veterinary microbiology.

Scientists

Sr. No.	Name of the staff	Designation
1	Dr. Rajlakshmi Viswanathan	Scientist E and Group Leader
2	Dr. Arun TR	Scientist B

Technical Staff

Sr. No.	Name of the staff	Designation
1	Mrs. Savita Katendra	Sr. Technician-1
2	Mr. R. N. Khedkar	Laboratory Attendant-2

Project Staff

Sr. No.	Name of the staff	Designation
1	Ms. Meera Prabhakar	Project Technical Assistant
2	Ms. Shruti Borawake	Project Technician-3
3	Mr. Nikhil Bhongale	Project Technician-3

Ongoing Projects

Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance at animal -human interface in the content of One Health .

PI Dr Rajlakshmi Viswanathan;
Funding:ICMR, 2022-25

Diagnostic Services for Bacteriology

PI: Rajlakshmi Viswanathan
Funding: Intramural

Seroepidemiology, maternal immune status and missed diagnosis of pertussis among young infants in India - a multicentric study

PI: Rajlakshmi Viswanathan
Funding: The DBT Wellcome India Alliance Extramural, Funding 2019-2024

Significant Research Findings/Contributions

Establishment and functionalization of a new Bacteriology group as mandated by the institutional SAC, 2016, in an institute dedicated to virology. Cholera, a disease traditionally associated with the Gangetic plains, has been documented to cause outbreaks in three districts of Maharashtra (Indian J Med Res 2019, AmJ Trop Med Hyg, 2019, Indian J Med Res-in Press, AmJ Trop Med Hyg 2021), with the isolation of non hemolytic, polymyxin B sensitive atypical El Tor strain. Deletion of GTA at 74-76 nucleotide position of rstB, a Haitian determinant was reported from the Indian subcontinent for the first time.
Pertussis is a disease less commonly studied in India. The group has worked to strengthen laboratory diagnosis for pertussis and develop capacity in centres across India. The work has led to the publication for the first time from India, a report on the newborn and maternal immune status to pertussis and made a case for considering timely booster vaccination of pregnant women. (Archives of Dis Childhood, 2022)