AIIMS Nagpur to host 49th national microbiology congress
“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. The laboratory is expected to become operational in about a year. Manpower and equipment would be funded through separate budgets.
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. 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. 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.