India's First Biosafety Level-3 Mobile Lab Launched In Nashik, Will Help Scientists In Probing Outbreaks

The Biosafety level-3 containment mobile laboratory will ensure on-site diagnosis with a quick turnaround time for reporting outbreaks

New Delhi: India's first Biosafety level-3 containment mobile laboratory was launched in Maharashtra's Nashik on Friday.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed that the mobile laboratory has been set up to investigate newly emerging and re-emerging viral infections that are highly infectious and of lethal potential to human beings, news agency ANI reported.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar inaugurated the laboratory today. It has been designed and built by the Indian Council of Medical Research in collaboration with Mumbai-based bio-safety equipment maker Klenzaids. 

The mobile laboratory can be simply driven around to various locations, like a normal bus. It will be able to reach remote and forested areas where specially trained ICMR scientists will be able to investigate outbreaks using samples from humans and animal sources.

The same will ensure on-site diagnosis with a quick turnaround time for reporting these outbreaks.

Speaking at the launch, Union MoS Bharati Pravin Pawar said that the Biosafety level-3 mobile laboratory is a prominent value addition to the Union government's efforts to strengthen healthcare infrastructure through the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission.

She informed that the mobile lab will help in real-time data collection which will facilitate quick containment and prevent further spread of any emerging viral infections.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) DG Dr. Balram Bhargava called the launch "historic" as he mentioned that this is the first Mobile BSL-3 Laboratory of South Asia region. He 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 may be mobilised in case of sudden outbreaks," said the ICMR DG.

BSL-3 Enhanced Laboratory Built At Cost Of About Rs 25 Crores

According to the Union Health Ministry, the existing infrastructure of BSL-3 laboratories is fixed and relies on transporting samples from near and far locations, causing delays in diagnosis.

With repeated outbreaks of highly infectious pathogens like Nipah, Zika, Avian influenza, and now COVID being reported, early detection of the emerging epidemics or pandemics is critical to enable quick containment and prevent spread.

ICMR and Klenzaids joined hands to design and build India's first Mobile BSL-3 enhanced laboratory to deal with this concern.

BSL-3 enhanced laboratory, a self-sufficient unit, is built at a cost of about Rs 25 crores. It has every system and equipment essential for full standalone operation.

As per the Union Health Ministry, the laboratory is airtight, access-controlled, bio-decontaminable, fitted with safe change HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Absorbing) filtration and biological liquid waste decontamination system.

It is controlled through an intelligent control automation system that maintains the working environment under negative air pressure, maintains equipment parameters, and records all necessary data.

(With Agency Inputs)