LAHORE: The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) on Monday fixed the price of the ELISA dengue test at Rs1,500.

According to a directive issued to all private laboratories, collection centres and hospital labs of the province, the maximum price of the ELISA dengue NS-1, IgG and IgM test has been fixed at Rs1,500.

Also, all the entities, both providing the testing facilities and collecting samples, have been directed not to charge more than the fixed rate. They have been also further directed to mention the machine being used for the test, reagents and kits with their certification, and lastly, individual batch numbers as well. They have also been directed that the reporting time should not be more than 24 hours.

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Earlier, on Monday, a consultative meeting was held here at the PHC office with representatives of the leading laboratories, chaired by Chief Executive Officer PHC Dr Muhammad Saqib Aziz, wherein the consensus was reached to reduce the prices of dengue-related tests in the larger public interest to Rs 1,500.

Moreover, the testing entities have also been warned against violating the orders, and violations would entail penal consequences, including fines, suspension of services, deregistration from the PHC, and sealing of the premises. “To ensure these directions, the authorised PHC officers will inspect and visit hospitals, private laboratories and collection centres from time to time,” warns the directive.