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Special lab to do Aids tests soon

It will be situated at the Singapore General Hospital.

By Kong Sook Chin

The doctor who discovered the first three carriers of the Aids-related virus in Singapore is now setting up a special laboratory to do tests for Aids.

Dr K.V. Ratnam, Registrar at Middle Road Hospital, was sent to Atlanta and Washington in February to learn the latest techniques on confirmation tests for the as-yet incurable disease.

Presence of antibodies

At the Atlanta Centre for Disease Control, he attended a four-day intensive training course on the Western Blot test. He was the only overseas participant in a group of about 30 doctors.

The Western Blot test is employed after another test has been made.

This first test, called the Elisa test, is used to screen the presence of certain antibodies which may indicate whether the person has been exposed to the Aids-related virus, Dr Ratnam said.

Once the Elisa test identifies someone as having these antibodies, the Western Blot test is then employed to determine if this person has been actually exposed to the Aids-related virus or is carrying it.

The Western Blot test which Singapore would be using will be enzyme-linked and is called the Elisa-Western Blot test. It is different from the Western Blot test employing radioactive materials in use in the laboratory of Dr Robert Gallo, the American doctor who discovered the Aids-related virus, HTLV-III.

Dr Ratnam said both were just as accurate but the Elisa-Western Blot test was more convenient to use and did not pose the problem of radioactive waste disposal.

He added that both Western Blot tests were not commercially available yet. Dr Ratnam had spent a week at Dr Robert Gallo's laboratory in Washington to see the work done there.

Dr Ratnam said the laboratory in Singapore would be operational by July. It will be situated in the Pathology Department, Singapore General Hospital.

Some doctors to be trained

He said all precautions would be taken to ensure the safety of the staff, including the proper sterilisation of equipment and proper disposal of materials.

Having learnt how to use and interpret the Western Blot test at Atlanta, Dr Ratnam would be responsible for the work in the special SGH laboratory. He said he would divide his time between Middle Road Hospital and the laboratory.

He will train two laboratory technicians to help him. Later he would also train some doctors to interpret the results.

Man undergoing tests at Middle Road Hospital

A MAN is now under observation at Middle Road Hospital for suspected Kaposi's Sarcoma, a skin cancer that is one of the clinical manifestations of Aids.

A statement from the Health Ministry yesterday said: “So far, all tests carried out have been negative.

“The patient is still under investigation.”

The ministry issued the statement after it received press inquiries about the man.

Meanwhile, the three men identified as carriers of the Aids-related virus, HTLV-III, were well, said Dr Tulip Tan, Medical Director, Middle Road Hospital, yesterday.

She said that their condition remained unchanged and they were reporting for the weekly check-ups at the hospital.

Dr K. V. Ratnam, Registrar of the hospital, said one of them had weight loss and swollen lymph nodes while another had swollen lymph nodes.

The pilot study and blood tests on 20,000 people in the high-risk groups such as prostitutes and haemophiliacs have begun, said Aids Advisory Committee Chairman Dr Ong Yong Wan yesterday.

She stressed that there was still no case of Aids in Singapore. The pilot study should be completed in about three months, she added.

Dr Ong is the Medical Director of the Blood Transfusion Services and Head of the Haematology Department, Health Ministry.

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This article was written by Roy Tan.

Archive of "Special lab to do Aids tests soon", The Straits Times, 18 May 1985

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