Nagpur: AIIMS-Nagpur has received a Rs30 crore sanction from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi, to establish a Biosafety Level-III (BSL-III) laboratory, a facility expected to strengthen the region’s capacity to detect and investigate emerging and high-risk infectious diseases.
The laboratory is expected to become operational in about a year. “Space had already been earmarked for the facility and the sanctioned amount would be used for developing its infrastructure,” AIIMS executive director Prashant Joshi said. Manpower and equipment would be funded through separate budgets.
Joshi added that the facility will reduce dependence on National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, for advanced testing and help strengthen Maharashtra’s capacity for infectious disease surveillance and research.
The development comes at a time when increasing human-animal interaction, deforestation and climate change are creating conditions for the emergence and spread of zoonotic infections. “Human-animal interface is increasing because of deforestation. We are invading the habitat of animals. Climate change and deforestation are very important factors,” said Joshi.
Meena Mishra, head of the department of microbiology, AIIMS-Nagpur, said early detection of emerging infections required both syndromic and genomic surveillance. While syndromic surveillance identifies unusual patterns of illness based on symptoms, genomic surveillance helps detect mutations and emerging pathogens through whole genome sequencing.
“If the incidence of a disease is increasing, it should be picked up through proper syndromic surveillance as well as genomics at an early stage so that proper preventive measures can be implemented,” Mishra said.
In another major upgrade, AIIMS Nagpur’s Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) is being converted into an Infectious Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (IRDL) at a cost of Rs17 crore. The project is being funded by ICMR-DHR. The upgraded regional facility will cover bacteriology, mycology, parasitology and virology, besides expanding the range of infections that can be tested. It is expected to become functional within three months.
Mishra added that AIIMS Nagpur’s microbiology department was already involved in national surveillance programmes and had contributed to granting PCR-testing status to more than 250 laboratories.
