Regional VRDL

 

Regional VRDL (R-VRDL), ICMR-RMRCNE, Dibrugarh was established in 2014 as a Central Sector Scheme entitled, “Establishment of a network of laboratories for managing epidemics and natural calamities” under Department of Health Research, Govt. of India. The laboratory is actively contributing towards timely detection of infectious pathogens, disease diagnosis, outbreak investigation and creation of trained manpower in the region. The laboratory has been implemented to meet the following objectives:

  • To enumerate the prevalent infectious pathogens in the region.
  • To provide diagnosis of viral/bacterial infections to the health care system at the earliest.
  • To investigate outbreaks of probable viral/bacterial infection and alert the state health authorities for preparedness of viral/bacterial epidemics.
  • To enumerate different viral strains/genotypes, including their molecular epidemiology and monitor genetic variations by sequencing of viral strains.
  • To isolate viral strains and develop a virus bank.
  • To develop rapid and reliable diagnostic kits for viral infections prevalent in the region.
  • To provide training for the development of trained manpower in the region.

Significant achievements from the major projects:

1. Setting up of nationwide network of laboratories for managing epidemics and national calamities:

  • Disease diagnosis: Performed approximately 30,000 diagnostic test reports of viral diseases since inception. Also provided approximately 3,80,000 RT-PCR diagnostic tests reports for SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Development of diagnostic kit: Developed Real-time RT PCR based diagnosis kit to screen the Omicron variant and distinguish its Sub variants BA.1 and BA.2 within 2 hours. (paten application No: 202111058937)
  • Outbreak investigation: Investigated 52 viral/bacterial outbreaks across the Northeastern region since inception
  • Isolation of SARS-CoV-2: First laboratory from Northeast India and second govt funded lab in India to successfully isolate SARS-CoV-2 in June 2020.
  • Research collaboration: Collaborative study with Tezpur University, Assam to develop the capacitive biosensor for Rapid diagnosis of COVID-19 (Patent Application No. 202231009453).
  • NGS based molecular characterization: Approximately 529 SARS-CoV-2 complete genome sequences and 250 Influenza A positive samples along with positive samples for Dengue virus, Enterovirus, Adenovirus, Respiratory Syncytial virus etc. have been sequenced resulting identification of circulating viral strains and providing insights into molecular epidemiology.

 

2. Study on persistence of high-risk HPV infection and its association with specific epigenetic markers and HLA-class-II gene polymorphism among adult females from Northeast India:

  • This ongoing project provided important information on the prevalence of different high-risk HPV genotypes in the 8 NE states of India including the emergence of high-risk type 67 as the 2nd most common genotype in the region.
  • Mizoram has shown the highest HPV prevalence followed by Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Nagaland and Manipur

 

3) Pan India surveillance for respiratory viruses through DHR-ICMR VRDL network

  • Screened approximately 4500 ILI-SARI subjects for Influenza A, Influenza B and SARS-CoV-2 since 2021.
  • Data showed circulation of influenza B: Victoria, Influenza A:H3N2 and Influenza A:H1N1 during the period 2021-2024.

 

Sl No. Name Position
1 Dr. Biswajyoti Borkakoty Scientist-F & HOD, PI and Nodal officer
2 Dr. Aniruddha Jakharia Scientist D
3 Mr. Puna Nanda Gogoi Technician C
4 Mr. Nabajyoti Boruah Technician 1

Projects Last Five Years

Sl No. Name of the Projects Funding Agency Status
1 Setting up of nation–wide network of laboratories for managing epidemics and national calamities DHR Ongoing
2 Pan India surveillance for respiratory viruses through DHR-ICMR VRDL network ICMR Ongoing
3 Study on persistence of high-risk HPV infection and its association with specific epigenetic markers and HLA class II gene polymorphism among adult females from North East India ICMR Ongoing
4 To study combinatorial and synergistic effect of Artemisinin, Paclitaxel and Guggulsterone on hepatocellular carcinoma and breast cancer cell lines ICMR Ongoing
5 Development and validation of a Point of care respiratory syncytial virus assay (newly initiated) ICMR Ongoing
6 To enhance the quality of infectious disease diagnosis is in India through implementation of an external Quality Assurance program under National health Research Priority (NHRP) on one health. (newly initiated) ICMR Ongoing
7 High Performance Computing Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Hub ICMR Initiated
8 Establishment of Ten ICMR Biorepositories for COVID-19 ICMR Past
9 A systematic assessment of acute viral hepatitis and chronic liver disease in Northeast India with special reference to strengthening of laboratories in the region ICMR Past
10 Sentinel surveillance for influenza, including avian influenza, in India ICMR Past
11 Prevention and Control of diseases "Development of tools to prevent outbreak of epidemics" for quality check (QC) under VRDL Project ICMR Past
12 Conduct of quality assurance program for both serological and molecular diagnosis of Leptospirosis (Multi-site initiated by ICMR-Port Blair) ICMR Past
13 Providing quality assurance for both serological and molecular scrub typhus testing, for DHR virus diagnostic laboratories across the country (Multi-site, initiated by KGMU, Lucknow) ICMR Past

 

Diagnosis spectrum

Sl No. Name of pathogen Method of Testing
1 Respiratory pathogens: Influenza A, Influenza B, Influenza C, SARS-CoV-2, Enterovirus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus A/B, Human Coronavirus-NL63, Human Coronavirus-OC43, Human Coronavirus-229E/HKU1, Human Coronavirus-HKU1, Human Parechovirus, Human Rhinovirus, Human parainfluenza virus- 1/2/3/4, Human Metapneumo virus, Human Bocavirus, Adenovirus, Staphylococcus aureus, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae Type B, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Legionella pneumophila / Legionella longbeachac, Pneumocystis jiroveci, Bordetella pertussis, Salmonella species, Haemophilus influenzae species, Clostridium difficile qRT-PCR
2 Gastroenteritis pathogens: Campylobacter coli / jejuni / lari Enterohemorragic / verotoxin producing Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli/ Shigella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, Sapo virus, Norovirus G-I & G-II, Human Astrovirus, Human Adenovirus, Rotavirus. qRT-PCR
3 Other pathogens: Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Measles, Japanese encephalitis (JE), Rotavirus, Dengue, Parvovirus B19, Herpes simplex virus (HSV) 1&2, Chikungunya, Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Hepatitis A Virus (HAV), Hepatitis E Virus (HEV), Human Papilloma virus (HPV), Mumps, Scrub typhus, Leptospira qRT-PCR, PCR & ELISA
4 NGS, Sanger sequencing based molecular characterization: SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A, Influenza B, Dengue, VZV, Rhinovirus, Enterovirus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus A/B, Adenovirus, Leptospira, Mumps, Klebsiella pneumoniae NGS, Sanger sequencing

 

Recent Publications: last 4 years (2020-2024)

Sl No. Title
1 Kaur H, Borkakoty B, Lynrah KG, Majumdar T, Singh KL, Apum B, et al. Viral Hepatitis Prevalence among Tribal and Non-Tribal Hospitalised Patients in Northeast India with a Note on its Prevalence before and During COVID-19. European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety. 2024;16(7):317-35.
2 Boro P, Gongo T, Ori K, Kamki Y, Ete N, Jini M, Jampa L, Patgiri SJ, Sarmah N, Siddique AI, Bhattacharjee CK, Bali NK, Borkakoty B*. An outbreak of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis due to Coxsackievirus A24 in a residential school, Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh: July 2023, Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology 2024;48:100549. ISSN 0255-0857,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmmb.2024.100549.
3 Borkakoty B*, Bali NK, Jakaria A, Hazarika R, Temsu T, Gohain M, Kaur H. Norovirus gastroenteritis in children under-five years hospitalized for diarrhea in two cities of northeast India: a retrospective study. Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology. 2023;45:100397.
4 Baruah S, Jakharia A* and Borkakoty B. Burden of Infectious Diseases in North East India: A Mini-Review. J Microbiol Biotechnol 2023, 8(3): 000270. DOI: 10.23880/oajmb-16000270
5 Bali N, Borkakoty B, Ali A, Ahmed T, Roohi S, Wani S, Nisar Q, Hazarika R. Presence of fimH and iss type 1, 2 and 3 genes in uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates recovered from an apex medical institute in North India. Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2023;46:100417, ISSN 0255-0857, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmmb.2023.100417.
6 Sahu PP, Sarma G, Das S, Borkakoty B. Rapid diagnosis of COVID-19 using disposal paper capacitive sensor. Analytica Chimica Acta. 2023;1273:341500.
7 Sarmah K, Sarma K, Borah PK, Mahanta J, Borkakoty B, Kaur H. Co-circulation of two Mumps virus genotypes in Assam, India. Virus Genes. 2023;59(4):515-23.
8 Jakharia A, Borkakoty B, Pait S, Baruah G, Hazarika R, Biswas D. First isolation and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 from COVID-19 patient of North East India. Indian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology. 2024;67(1):133-6.
9 Sarma K, Bali NK, Sarmah N, Borkakoty B. In Silico Screening of Prospective MHC Class I and II Restricted T-Cell Based Epitopes of the Spike Protein of SARS-CoV-2 for Designing of a Peptide Vaccine for COVID-19. COVID. 2022;2,17.
10 Yadav PD, Kaur H, Gupta N, Sahay RR, Sapkal GN...... Borkakoty B et al. Zika a Vector Borne Disease Detected in Newer States of India Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Microbiology. 2022;10:13:888195.
11 Borkakoty B*, Sarmah MD, Majumdar T, Bhattacharjee CK, Baruah PJ, Biswas D, Kaur H. Role of Innate Immune Regulatory Genes, FOXP3 and FOS in Chronic Hepatitis B Infection. Viral Immunology. 2022;35(4):338-44.
12 Aggarwal N, Potdar V, Vijay N, Mukhopadhyay L, Borkakoty B, Manjusree S, Choudhary ML, Chowdhury D, Verma R, Bhardwaj SD, Sarmah N, et al. SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus co-infection cases identified through ILI/SARI sentinel surveillance: a pan-India report. Viruses. 2022;14(3):627.
13 Gogoi D, Biswas D, Borkakoty B, Dutta M. T cell responses in symptomatic moderate patients with pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus infection. Acta Virologica. 2021;65(3):245-253.
14 Bali N, Borkakoty B, Bashir H, Nazir S, Wani S, Mir A, Hazarika R. Isolation of mecC Gene carrying Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Clinical Samples from a Tertiary Care Institute, Northern India. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2021 Oct, Vol-15(10): DC11-DC15
15 Gogoi D, Borkakoty B, Biswas D, Yadav K, Patel V. Characteristics of Circulatory γδ T cells in Patients with Symptomatic Chronic Hepatitis B Infection. Viral Immunology. 2021;34(7):483-490.
16 Gupta N, Kaur H, Yadav PD, Borkakoty B. Clinical Characterization and Genomic Analysis of Samples from COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections during the Second Wave among the Various States of India. Viruses. 2021;13(9):1782.
17 Alagarasu K, Patil JA, Kakadeet MB…. Borkakoty B … et al. Serotype and genotype diversity of dengue viruses circulating in India: a multi-centre retrospective study involving the Virus Research Diagnostic Laboratory Network in 2018. International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2021;111:242-252.
18 Yadav PD, Nyayanit DA, Majumdar T, Patil S, Kaur H, Gupta N, Shete AM, …. Borkakoty B, et al. An Epidemiological Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Sequences from Different Regions of India. Viruses. 2021;13(5):925.
19 Borkakoty B*, Jakharia A, Bali NK, Sarmah MD, Hazarika R, Baruah G, Bhattacharya C, Biswas D. A preliminary evaluation of normal saline as an alternative to viral transport medium for COVID-19 diagnosis. Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2021;153(5-6):684-8.
20 Borkakoty B*, Bali NK. Haemophilus influenzae and SARS-CoV-2: Is there a role for investigation?. Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology. 2021;39(2):240-4.
21 Gogoi G, Das M, Borkakoty B, Borgohain M, Das AK. Suspected SARS-Cov-2 reinfections in health care workers from Assam, India: Are they true reinfections. Indian Journal of Pathology and Oncology. 2021;8(1):10-6.
22 Borkakoty B and Bali NK. TSP-based PCR for rapid identification of L and S type strains of SARS-CoV-2. Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology. 2021;39(1):73-80.
23 Kumar CG, Giri S, Chawla-Sarkar M, Gopalkrishna V, Chitambar SD, Ray P, Venkatasubramanian S, Borkakoty B, Roy S, Bhat J, Dwibedi B. Epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhea among children less than 5 years hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis prior to rotavirus vaccine introduction in India. Vaccine. 2020;38(51):8154-60.
24 Baruah FK, Borkakoty B, Ahmed A, Bora P. Neonatal Meningitis and Septicemia caused by multi-drug resistance Elizabethkingia anopheles identified by 16s Ribosomal RNA: An Emerging Threat” Journal of Global Infectious Diseases. 2020; 12(4):225-227
25 Baruah FK, Borkakoty B, Saikia S, Baruah MP, Devi U. Burkholderia pseudomallei septic arthritis in Type-2 diabetes mellitus patients: Report of two cases. Indian J Med Microbiol 2020;38:222-5
26 Praharaj I, Jain A, Singh M, Balakrishnan A, Dhodapkar R, Borkakoty B, Ashok M, Das P, Biswas D, Kalawat U, Turuk J. Pooled testing for COVID-19 diagnosis by real-time RT-PCR: A multi-site comparative evaluation of 5-& 10-sample pooling. Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2020;152(1-2):88-94.

Dr. Biswajyoti Borkakoty, MD,

Scientist-F, PI & Nodal Officer, Regional VRDL,

ICMR-RMRCNE, Dibrugarh

Mobile: +91 9435131316

Email: vrdl.rmrcne@gmail.com

+