The first Biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) containment mobile laboratory of South Asia was inaugurated in the Nasik district of Maharashtra on Friday.
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr Bharati Pawar inaugurated the mobile facility which has been set up to investigate newly emerging and re-emerging viral infections that are highly infectious and of lethal potential to human beings.
Pawar said that the Biosafety level-3 Mobile Laboratory is a significant value addition to the Government’s efforts to strengthen healthcare infrastructure through the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission.
Dr Pawar further said the mobile Lab will help in real-time data collection which will enable us to ensure quick containment and prevent further spread of any emerging viral infections.
She added that this lab is one of the finest examples of our resolve for an AtmaNirbhar Bharat.
The laboratory has been designed and built by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in collaboration with Mumbai based bio-safety equipment maker Klenzaids.
ICMR Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava termed the launch of the mobile laboratory as "historic" and added that this is the first Mobile BSL-3 Laboratory of the South Asia region.
The DG recalled that during the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala, samples had to be transported to the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
“It was then we felt a mobile laboratory could be of great help during outbreaks of highly infectious pathogens. Such mobile Laboratories can be stationed at different regions of the country and maybe mobilised in case of sudden outbreaks.”
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