JOIN USThe Ministry of Home Affairs has temporarily suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act account of Manipal Institute of Higher Education (MAHE) following the allegations that the Manipal Institute of Virology (MIV) has not followed rules while conducting Nipah virus tests.
The MIV was established in 2010 as a Grade-1 Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory with funding from the Indian Medical Council of Research under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
MIV professor and head Dr G Arunkumar said FCRA account is suspended stating that the Centre received foreign contribution for Nipah testing, which is not true. The Centre received ICMR funding from March 25, 2010 to March 25, 2019 to provide laboratory support for diagnostics, surveillance and outbreak investigations.
Nipah virus investigation was carried out in Kerala and was funded exclusively by ICMR specifically after the Nipah virus outbreak in Kozhikode in Kerala in May 2018. MIV used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for diagnosing Nipah and samples were transferred to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, said Dr Arunkumar.
He clarified that no biological samples or Nipah virus positive samples were transferred into or out of India, and this study had no connection with vaccine development or research. No intellectual property was generated or transferred. "The documentation regarding this study is transparent and freely available in the public domain," he added.
The MAHE had responded to MHA letter stating that it had not used any foreign contribution for Nipah virus testing. The University used to file report on foreign fund transactions once in 15 days. All account details are also furnished. "We have not received any response from MHA as of today," he added.