South Kalimantan Develops International Standard Molecular Biology Laboratory

Banjarbaru (ANTARA) - The South Kalimantan Provincial Government (Pemprov Kalsel) is developing an international-standard molecular biology laboratory to strengthen services for detecting infectious diseases and screening for cancer more accurately.

Head of the South Kalimantan Regional Health Laboratory (Labkesda) Arlan Prabowo in Banjarbaru on Thursday stated that the facility is being developed by constructing a laboratory room to Biosafety Level 2 Plus (BSL 2+) standards to support Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based examinations for various types of diseases.

“The molecular biology services being developed are no longer limited to COVID-19 examinations but have been expanded to meet diagnostic needs for other diseases,” he said.

He conveyed that one of the services now operational is HPV DNA testing for cervical cancer screening as part of the government’s priority programme in controlling non-communicable diseases.

In addition, Labkesda Kalsel is now capable of conducting PCR tests to detect tuberculosis (TB), thereby supporting the acceleration of handling one of the region’s major infectious diseases.

He emphasised that human resource readiness is also being strengthened with the presence of a clinical microbiology specialist as the responsible party, along with analysts who have received special training in molecular biology.