Activities

Activities of Public Health Laboratories are divided in three main sections:

Following are the functions carried out by food section of the 11 food testing public health laboratories in the state.

Implementation of PFA Act 1954 and Rules 1955

Since long period, food adulteration is well known aspect, The Central Govt. has passed the PFA Act in 1954. Earlier the PFA Act was enforced within Municipal Corporation and Council Areas only. Accordingly PFA Rules were framed in the year 1955 to carry out the provisions of this Act. To bring the rural areas within the purview of implementation of this Act, in 1970 the implementation was handed over to independent department- Food and Drugs Administration of Maharashtra State. The Commissioner- an IAS Officer- of the FDA is notified as the “Food (Health) Authority” for the entire State of Maharashtra. Apart from Food and Drug Administration, Municipal Corporations, Councils and Cantonment Boards in their respective areas also implement the Act.

The Aim and Objects of the PFA Act

1) To prevent Food Adultration.
2) To protect Consumer’s Interest.

Various Authorities responsible for implementation of the PFA Act1954.

B) Water Section :

Following are the functions carried out in the Water Section of Public Health Labs. In the State under Water quality monitoring.

	Chemical Analysis of water to ascertain its potability by performing various chemical parameters as per BIS specifications IS 10500: 1991.
	Chemical analysis of Effluents, Trade waste, Domestic effluents as per the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974.
	Analysis of water samples collected in connection with Food Poisoning incidents for chemical toxicants including pesticide residue, metals etc.
	Chemical analysis of water disinfectants like Bleaching Powder (IS 1065:1989), Liquid Chlorine (IS 11673:1992), Chlorine tablets etc. as per BIS Specifications mentioned.
	Chemical Analysis of Alum (Solid / Liquid){IS 299:1989}, Poly Aluminium Chloride (IS 15573:2005) as per BIS specifications mentioned.
	Dose determination of chemical disinfectants mentioned above.
	Analysis of water for construction purposes (IS 456:1978), Swimming pool (IS 3328:1993) as per BIS specifications mentioned.
	Examination of various Kits made available in the market for the determination of various chemical constituents of water for assessing their quality, usefulness, durability and economic feasibility.
	To give thorough Knowledge- theoretical as well as practical- about water analysis- water potability, water pollution, dose determination etc. to the visitors like Medical students, Medical Officers Local Self Govt. people, College Students, Nursing Students, School children etc.
	To organize training programs regarding water analysis, methods in water analysis, modification in methodology etc. to the technical staff related to the water analysis, consumer organizations and NGO’s etc.

Collection of Water Sample for Chemical Examination: -

	Collect the water sample in a plastic container.
	Ideally a new container should be used; but if it is unavailable, wash the used containers with detergent, carefully rinse thoroughly with water.
	Sample should be representative of the supply.
	Avoid surface scum.
	Before filling, rinse sample container two or three times with the water being collected. Collect at least 2.5 liters sample.

Collection of Bleaching powder Sample for Chemical Examination:

	Sample shall not be exposed to atmosphere for longer time than necessary and sampling shall be done as rapidly and thoroughly as possible.
	Sampling instrument should be clean and dry when used.
	To draw, a representative sample content of each container selected for sampling shall be mixed as thoroughly as possible by rolling, shaking or stirring by suitable means.
	Sample shall be placed in clean, dry and airtight glass or polythene bag on which the material has no action.
	Sample containers shall be of such a size that they are nearly filled by sample.
	Each sample container so filled shall be sealed airtight after filling and marked with the full details of sampling, the date of sampling, the month and year of manufacture of material and its grade.
	Precautions shall be taken to protect the sample; the material being sampled the sampling instrument and containers of the sample from adventitious contamination.
	Care should be taken to avoid direct contact of bleaching powder with skin. Face should be kept at a safe distance from the container when it is opened.

Storage:

	Instruction for the storage of bleaching powder. Bleaching Powder must be stored in a cool and dry place and away from Sunlight.
	Implementation of Water(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974.
	An Act provides for the prevention and control of water pollution and the maintaining or restoring of wholesomeness of water.

Various Authorities responsible for the implementation of the Act.

	Central/ State Board- To exercise the powers conferred on and perform the functions assigned – e.g. to collect the samples of Water / Waste water/ Effluents/ Trade waste etc. for the purpose of chemical analysis.
	Government Analyst—An Officer appointed by the concerned State Board for analysis of sample is responsible for the analysis and submission of report in a prescribed form in triplicate to the State Board.
	Appellate Authorities- It is constituted by the State Govt. for deciding the reasonability of the conditions imposed or the variation of any conditions imposed by the State Board.
	Court of Law- To restrain the person/ company who is likely to cause pollution by reason of disposal of any matter in any stream or well, which is likely to be polluted.

Bacteriological examination

	Bacteriological examination of water samples for potability.
	Stool / Rectal Swabs / Vomit Samples Examination For Bacterio- logical Culture-For Cholera And Other Agents Of Diarrhoea, Dysentry, Gastroenteritis. Blood Samples For Enteric Fever Cultures & Food Poisoning Agents.
	Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of isolated bacterial cultures.
	Microbiological -Samples received under Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954.
	Suspected / leftover food, water and related samples to detect causative agent in food poisoning outbreak investigation.
	Food served to VIP and VVIP is tested for bacteriological examination.

Training And Health Education

	In service training to the technical staff.
	Interstate training to the technical staff.
	International training to the WHO fellows
	Training to the Med. DPH candidates
	Interstate training for members of consumer forum
	Health education through demonstration and exhibition
	To medical students
	To Local Self Govt. people
	To collage students, catering diploma students
	To Nursing staff
	To sanitary & food inspectors.
	To the public

SAMPLE COLLECTION METHODS (Bacteriological Examination):

For effective bacteriological examination of water it is important that the water sampling should fulfill the following requirements.

	Sampling should be properly planned.
	Sampling points should be representative of water source.
	Sampling points should be located in proportion to population served.
	Samples should be collected, stored, dispatched in suitable sterilized glass bottles with properly fitting stoppers or caps.
	At least 250 ml of sample should be collected.
	Send the samples to the nearest district Public Health Laboratory at least within 24 hrs from the time of collection.
	samples should be sent in a cold chain.

Transportation:

The shorter the time that elapses between collection of sample and its analysis the more reliable will be the analytical results. Therefore send the sample at destination at an earliest.

Concerned Laboratories:
Samples should be sent to or to The District Public Health Laboratory at an earliest. (Annexure I)

Collection of Stool Sample:
Reliability of results obtained will depend largely on the care taken in collecting samples. Stool samples are collected for various different tests as follows.

	Microscopic examination of parasites i.e. eggs or larvae of Parasitic worms.
	To detect bacteriological pathogens like Vibrio, Salmonella and Shigella.

1) For Microscopic examination to detect the presence of eggs or larvae of parasitic worms.

	Obtain sufficient quantity of stool samples approximately 4 -5 Gms or 4 ml of stool sample depending on whether it is in solid or liquid in consistency.
	Liquid stools containing mucus and blood must be examined first, which may contain motile amoeba that may die quickly on exposure to air.
	Specimen should be collected in a waxed cardboard box or in a wide mouth plastic box with a lid.
	Examine stools while fresh i.e. within 1 hr of collection.

2) To detect bacteriological pathogens like Vibrio, Salmonella and Shigella.

	Collect stool samples before the patient receives an antibiotic.
	Use clean cotton sterile tipped swab and introduce well into rectum. When this is done the swab becomes faecally stained and moist.
	Alternately collect freshly passed liquid stools in a bottle or a cotton tipped swab.
	Send the sample to the laboratory in a tightly sealed screw capped sterile bottle. In case of samples of suspected Bacillary dysentery the fresh stool sample is preferred but if it is impossible send the sample in Cary Blair transport medium having pH 7.2 to 7.4.
	If it will take more than 2 hrs to reach laboratory send the sample in a Cary Blair transport medium.
	For suspected Salmonella spp collect the sample in Cary Blair transport medium having pH 7.2 to 7.4.

Storage:
Store the samples at 04 degrees C. Each sample should be properly & appropriately labeled. Detail information should be sent for each sample as below;

	Name of Patient.
	Name of Mother and Father.
	Address of Patient.
	Sex.
	Date of Onset of Symptoms.
	Provisional Diagnosis.
	Clinical Outcome.
	Antibiotic received prior to collection of sample-Yes / No / Not known.

Transportation:
Transport the specimens preferably in cold chain. If not possible send them at ambient temperature at earliest.

Concerned Laboratories:
Samples should be sent to or to The District Public Health Laboratory at an earliest. (Annexure I)

Collection of Blood Sample for detection of pathogens causing Enteric fever:

	For detection of Salmonella typhi, Salmonella Para-typhi A and B collect blood sample in 5 % bile broth medium. (Bile broth will be made available at District Public Health Laboratory)
	Collect blood sample in the first week of illness.
	Collect sample before antibiotics are administered to the patient.
	If bile broth is unavailable, collect blood sample in sterile plain bulb and send to District Public Health Laboratory at an earliest.

Collection of food Sample for Food poisoning outbreaks:

Food borne diseases include food poisoning due to toxins produced by microorganisms (e.g. Staphylococcus aureus). In fact, all the waterborne infections (viral, bacteriological and parasitic) can be transmitted through contamination of food. Food borne outbreaks are very common in our country.

	Collect sample in a clean, dry, sterile, leak proof container such as glass or plastic jar. If unavailable collect in a disposable new unused plastic bag. Do not add any preservative.
	Collect minimum 250 gms /ml of sample depending upon whether it is solid or liquid.
	If product is in big container representative sample should be collected in sterile container under aseptic conditions.
	Sample should be labeled immediately after collection.
	Collect patient's stool/vomit sample and water sample, which is used for drinking and food preparation purpose. simultaneously, label properly and sent along with food sample.
	Samples should be sent immediately along with as per standard proforma.
	Samples should accompany relevant information as per Annexure B.
	Samples should be sent in a cold chain so as to minimize the chances of deterioration of prepared food.
	Sample should be sent to State or Regional Public Health Laboratory, which is at nearest distance. Addresses of these labs are given in Annexure I.

Collection of swabs for'' sterilization testing'' of Operation theatre swabs:

	Collect swabs in Robertson's cooked meat medium.
	Collect samples from following points.
	Operation table surface.
	Instrument trolley.
	Overhead lamp.
	Boyle's apparatus.
	Floor near table.
	Alternately walls of the theatre.

Storage:
Store the collected swab at ambient temperature and not at freezing temperature.

Transportation:
Transport swab to the laboratory at an earliest preferably within 24 hrs of collection.

Concerned Laboratories:
Send operation theatre swabs to State Public Health Laboratory Pune-411001.