Pune’s bird flu virus lab gets Rs 2.5 cr for upgradation

indian express
Pune’s bird flu virus lab gets Rs 2.5 cr for upgradation
March 2, 2007 at 8:02 am
• Current Affairs • City
indianexpress: A year after the bird flu outbreak in the country, the avian influenza diagnostic laboratory at Aundh is all set to be upgraded on the lines of the Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) — the only laboratory in the country that can detect the H5N1 virus in birds. According to animal husbandry department principal secretary Leena Mehendale, an allocation of Rs 2.5 crore had been made to upgrade the laboratory in Pune.
At present, this is among the four regional labs — including the ones at Kolkata, Bangalore and Jalandhar — for checking and examining poultry samples for diseases. The laboratory is engaged in collecting samples from migratory birds, poultry and ducks and then testing the serum for antibodies. After the laboratory has been upgraded, scientists will be engaged in isolation of the virus, explained State Commissioner of Animal Husbandry Bijoy Kumar.
The laboratory uses the AIV AB Elisa test for the qualitative detection of antibody to the most common and prevalent avian influenza virus in chicken, turkey, geese or duck serum. The laboratory gets its samples from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Daman and Diu, and various parts of Maharashtra. “We are in a state of preparedness with a surveillance plan,” says Mehendale.