THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology will soon have Bio-Safety Level-3 (BSL-3) facilities to conduct tests for viruses like H5N1 which can pose serious threat to humans.
As of now, BSL-3 laboratory facility is available in some centres, including High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL), Bhopal, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, National Institute of Virology, Pune, and Kasturba Gandhi University, Manipal.
“The process for setting up BSL-3 has begun and we expect to get the facility here in the coming financial year,” said Dr M. Radhakrishna Pillai, director RGCB.
On the estimated cost, he said at some places BSL- 3 set up has been established at a cost of Rs 60 crore. “The outlay depends on the size of the lab and other facilities,” he added.
Experts say that the establishment of BSL- 3 facility here will be help in the effective prevention and containment of various pathogenic viruses.
As of now, only the National Institute of Virology, Pune, and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, are accredited to conduct (Polymer Chain Reaction) tests for viruses among people with suspected symptoms of H5N1. Samples, mainly nasal secretion, throat swab or sputum are subjected to PCR test at their labs.
Even though PCR test results can be made available the same day, the logistics problems especially in sending the samples to the centre and the distance factor often delayed the results.
At the moment, most samples from the state are sent to Delhi because of better air connectivity compared to NIV Pune.
During H1N1 outbreak, the NCDC had accredited the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology which has BSL- 2 facility and Kasturba Gandhi Medical College, Manipal, for PCR testing following the huge number of cases.
