The Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPH&PM), Tamil Nadu on Friday cancelled Medall Laboratory’s permission to process RT-PCR samples for Covid-19 citing alleged negligence by the lab.

A clarification from Medall attributed the problem to “encryption error.”

The cancellation order said that an analysis of the ICMR portal revealed that the laboratory had uploaded around 4,000 samples tested negative for Covid as positive on May 19 and 20. Also, results of the RT-PCR samples for Covid-19 from Kolkata were uploaded as received from Kallakurichi in Tamil Nadu.

There are a lot of incomplete details found in the line list of positive cases entered daily, the order added.

Noting that the laboratory hasn’t followed the due procedure laid down by the ICMR and the Government of India, the order said, “The uploading of positive results of samples received from outside Tamil Nadu, in Tamil Nadu account, has led to undue increase in case load and positivity of TN. This has spoiled the sincere efforts taken by the State in dealing with the pandemic.”

The order also alleged that the government suspects presence of due nexus between the lab and hospitals and that the wrong reports may be used to invite patients to the hospitals and subsequently medical bills shall be earned by the hospital.

Medall clarifies

In a clarification statement, Medall said its RT-PCR testing process is accurate and there are no issues with the process or its quality or accuracy.

“It must be brought to the attention that the RT-PCR testing process of Medall is not in question. It must be clarified and placed on record that the report generated and shared with the customers who took the test is accurate. The issue has been an encryption error (technical) that occurred while uploading the data to the ICMR server,” the statement said. Regretting the encryption error, the company said, it is rectifying (the error) in record time on priority basis.

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