Media Release

Mangaluru, Nov 10: The department of Microbiology, of the Father Muller Medical College are organizing a four-day National Hands on workshop on anaerobic culture techniques and Recent Identification Techniques titled ‘An Encounter with Anaerobes’ from November 10-13, 2021. The workshop is aimed at training the participants to impart concepts in anaerobiosis, to enable them to isolate and identify the various anaerobes and to present them with various case studies arranged by experts in the field.

The 5th National Hands on Workshop on Anaerobes under the banner of American Society Microbiology (ASM) and American Forum of India (AFI) was inaugurated by the director FMCI Fr Richard Aloysius Coelho among a array of delegates and dignitaries in the Father Muller Research Centre, Block A of FMMC on November 10, 2021. He stressed on the fact that though being a lay person in the subject of discussion, the inevitable connection of the spiritual belief of God though not seen on human could be similarly allayed on the illness and wellbeing due to these unseen microbes. The workshop which was regularly conducted by the department was postponed for two years citing the pandemic.

This unique workshop gives the participants an opportunity to get exposed to various anaerobic isolates, to provide practice oriented diagnostic techniques to isolate and identify them, to perform antimicrobial susceptibility testing and thus familiarizing with these ‘silent and forgotten pathogens’. In addition, the latest technique for Microbial Identification, MALDI TOF will be demonstrated with hands on training. Molecular Identification of Anaerobes by Conventional, Multiplex & Real Time PCR also will be done by demonstration as well as hands on training.

This unique event and those pathogens who hate oxygen, were the centre of the four days workshop. The role of anaerobes in causing various invasive infections is well documented. They are the most primitive bacteria, but were forgotten or overlooked as Anaerobic Culture Techniques are very laborious, time consuming, relatively expensive and needs a lot of practice and patience. The clinicians empirically believe that Metronidazole drug will provide an antibiotic coverage to all the anaerobes is also another factor. In the mid 1980s, anaerobes was the topic of interest in Microbiology. After two or three decades they vanished from the stage which rolled a red carpet to molecular techniques. Like the yester year heroines who come back to the stage after some years in supportive roles, we can sustain on a ray of hope that anaerobes might again occupy the centre stage of bacteriology in the near future and this workshop may be stepping stone to that effort.

Fr Ajith Menezes, administrator FMMC, Fr Rudolph Ravi D’Sa administrator FMMCH, dean FMMC Dr Jayaprakash Alva and chief of research Dr Sanjeeva Rai, Dr Antony Sylvian, dean, FMCOAHS other distinguished dignitaries were present at the inaugural.

Eminent personalities of our country like Dr Rama Choudhry, professor and HOD, All India Institute of Medical Sciences will be delivering the key note address enlightening on her vast experience on the clinical perspectives on anaerobic infections and Microbiome in health and disease. She is also the Indian Ambassador to American Society of Microbiologists and also the chairperson of the Anaerobic Forum of India. She was instrumental in getting permission to conduct this workshop under the banner of ASM & AFI .

Other guest speakers include Dr Chetana Vaishnavi, retired professor from PGI Chandigarh and Dr Padmaja Shenoy, associate professor from KMC Manipal who will be delivering the talks in a virtual platform.

Though the workshop were for a select 10 participants, but due to the immense interest and application received 24 were accommodated and few more were on the waiting list. The delegates included staff and PGs from premier institutes such as AIIMS, New Delhi; Breech Candy Mumbai; Stanly Medical College Chennai and many institutes from various states in India. Professor Dr Beena Antony is the Organizing secretary and professor Dr Meena Dias the organizing chairman of the workshop. Sponsors such as Don Whitley Anaerobic Workstations, BD Diagnostics, Ajosha Bioteknik and Durga Laboratories and Mahalasa Agencies have helped in providing their support to the workshop. A manual complied by professor Dr Beena Antony was released during the inaugural titled ‘An Encounter with Anaerobes’.