India’s first BSL-3 Mobile Laboratory
The first Biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) containment mobile laboratory of South Asia was inaugurated in the Nasik district of Maharashtra. The mobile facility investigates newly emerging and re-emerging viral infections that are highly infectious and of lethal potential to human beings.
What
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Union Health Ministry said the existing infrastructure of BSL-3 laboratories is fixed and dependent on transporting samples from near and far locations, often leading to delays in diagnosis.
- In view of repeated outbreaks of highly infectious pathogens like Nipah, Zika, Avian influenza and now COVID, it is critical to be able to detect the emerging epidemics or pandemics at a very early stage to enable quick containment and prevent spread.
- According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the laboratory is airtight, access-controlled, bio-decontaminable, fitted with safe change HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Absorbing) filtration and biological liquid waste decontamination system.
- The lab is controlled through an intelligent control automation system, which maintains the working environment under negative air pressure, maintains equipment parameters and records all necessary data.
