Archive · 31 Jul 2026
ELISA Machine Out of Service for Three Months in Mumbai Hospital
A special machine that checks for diseases like dengue and hepatitis stopped working at a Mumbai hospital for three months.
Doctors had to use quick tests instead, but the city only records results from the special machine, so many cases were not officially counted.
Some patients had to go to private labs and pay a lot of money.
The machine was donated by a minister but still didn’t work.
It has now been fixed and should start working soon.
The hospital says patients are still being treated properly, but the delay makes it hard to know how many people are sick.
The ELISA machine at Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital in Kandivali has been non‑functional for at least three months, disrupting confirmatory testing for dengue, leptospirosis, hepatitis B and C.
Without ELISA confirmation, suspected cases are being diagnosed with rapid tests, but BMC only records ELISA or RT‑PCR results, so many cases are not officially confirmed.
Hospital sources say 7–8 patients recently tested positive via rapid tests, and some are sent to private labs for ELISA at costs of Rs 2,500–4,000.
The machine was donated by Union Minister Piyush Goyal about three months ago but remained inoperable; it has now been installed and is expected to work by Saturday.
Hospital officials claim patient treatment has not been compromised, but the breakdown has hampered disease surveillance and reporting during the monsoon peak.
- Who
- Dr Ajay Gupta, hospital staff, BMC officials, Union Minister Piyush Goyal
- What
- ELISA machine failure disrupting confirmatory disease testing
- When
- July 31, 2026 (reported), machine non‑functional for at least 3 months
- Where
- Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, Kandivali, Mumbai
- Why
- Machine breakdown and manpower shortages hampering disease surveillance
- Hospital
- Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital
- Location
- Kandivali, Mumbai
- Machine status
- Non‑functional for 3 months, now installed
- Affected diseases
- Dengue, leptospirosis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C
- Cost of private ELISA
- Rs 2,500–4,000 per test