Sakhawat Hossain is a post graduate student of Chittagong University’s department of genetic engineering. He always had a hollow inside after losing his mother as a young child, but the coronavirus outbreak has changed things for him. He now feels he can do something for his other mother, that is, his country Bangladesh.
These students said more labs should be set up in Chattogram for COVID-19 tests. They said Chittagong University had many qualified teachers and so a lab could even be set up in the university for this purpose.
He is working at the BITID (Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases) lab in Faujdarhat, Chattogram, along with four others from his university department. They four other students are Raktim Barua, Asma Salahuddin, Syed Mohammed Lokmani and Imran Hossain. Khalid Juhain of the university’s biochemistry and molecular biology department is also working alongside them. From 9 in the morning till the evening, these students are running RTPCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests to identify COVID-19 tests.
In total, 17 students of Chittagong University’s genetic engineering department are working in 7 different labs of the country, testing samples of samples collected by lab technologists from suspected patients. Any lapse in precautions while carrying out these tests can put them at risk of infection.
When BITID began lab work in Chattogram, there was an acute shortage of trained personnel. In fact, only the lab director Shakil Ahmed had been trained in Dhaka. He contacted teachers of Chittagong University and Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.
These students heard about the matter from their teachers and through Facebook and the media and expressed their eagerness to work at their labs. Once they joined, the BITID lab began functioning fully and the number of samples and tests increased.
One of the students, Asma Salauddin, has graduated with a first class first degree from the genetic engineering department. She said, “This is an opportunity to do something for the people. I have experience working with PCR (polymerase chain reaction) so this is the best time to put that experience to use.”
Vice chancellor of Chattogram University, Shireen Akhter, has come forward to help the students in their work, providing them with transport from the university and PPE (personal protective equipment). She talks to them every morning, inquiry about their well-being.
Sunshine Grammar School’s principal, Safia Gazi Rahman, has provided PPE to the students and also provides them with meals. Many others have come forward to help these students. These gestures are a huge source of inspiration for these dedicated young persons.
These students said more labs should be set up in Chattogram for COVID-19 tests. They said Chittagong University had many qualified teachers and so a lab could even be set up in the university for this purpose.