Armed Forces Medical College

Department of Microbiology was created by bifurcation of Dept of Pathology in the year 1979 with the recognition of Microbiology as a subject distinct from Pathology. Lt Gen Jagdish Rai (then Col) was the first Head of the Dept. Amongst the other luminaries to occupy this chair were the pioneer microbiologists like Surg Capt PN Suri, and Lt Gen D Raghunath, who even today evoke a sense of admiration and respect among the microbiology fraternity. With the rapid advance of technology and its application to diagnostics the department has been keeping pace with the same with the installation of a number of automated equipment aimed at early microbiological diagnosis and follow up of infectious diseases, to provide timely and accurate microbiology support where precise and efficient diagnosis can make a difference in patient-care and management, thereby saving innumerable man hours and lives. The Department has the unique honour of being bestowed with the honour of being recognised as the State Reference Laboratory for NACO/Maharashtra State Aids Control Society with the task of supervising the activities of 72 ICTC in the Districts of Thane and Nashik. SRL is also NABL certified. The dept is entrusted with the onerous task of production of Antisera for Widal, Weil Felix and Brucella tests for Defence service hospitals which is achieved thanks to the availability of a registered animal house. In addition the dept also undertakes supervises External Quality Control in Microbiology for all hospitals in the Defence services. The Epidemic Outbreak Team of the Dept is always on standby for investigating infectious disease outbreak in any Armed Forces Establishment.