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‘Halt Nipah project with Indian lab’: Govt tells US health agency
CDC, America’s front line public health agency, has partnered with Manipal Centre for Virus Research (MCVR) to carry out illness surveillance across India
INDIA Updated: Feb 07, 2020 01:04 IST
Sudhi Ranjan Sen
Hindustan Times, New Delhi
India has asked the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop funding research in India without government approval after the agency appeared to have helped an under-qualified Indian laboratory to work on the Nipah virus, a pathogen that is considered a potential bio-weapon, according to officials and government documents accessed by HT.
CDC, America’s front line public health agency, has partnered with Manipal Centre for Virus Research (MCVR) to carry out illness surveillance across India, and government officials who asked not to be named said the agency seems to have helped MCVR study the Nipah virus, a pathogen that belongs to Risk Group 4 (RG4) classification.
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To be sure, MCVR was designated by the government of Kerala as one of the testing agencies for the Nipah virus during the outbreak.
The concern at present, the two officials cited above said, were related to more detailed studies of the virus and of funding that was not approved by the government.
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The note added: “Since Nipah is a high-risk pathogen with a potential of being used as Agent of bio-terrorism the samples were to be handled more carefully and tested in a BSL-IV laboratory and not in MCVR… The lapse on part of MCVR in handling Nipah virus samples with active support from CDC has been viewed separately by the ministry of health and family welfare … Therefore, CDC is advised to stop all funding of MCVR/Manipal University …Similarly, funding for any other research activity in the country that is not approved by the ICMR should be stopped immediately.”
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MCVR denied that it had carried out research into the virus, saying it had carried out detection tests when the outbreak took place and had been asked by the health ministry to stop doing so when the outbreak was deemed over in 2018.
“No virus isolation was done at MIV (Manipal Institute of Virology). Samples were sent to ICMR-NIV Pune for virus isolation work at their BSL-4 laboratory. We have observed/implemented all safety precautions while processing the samples,” said a statement from the office of the Vice Chancellor of Manipal University.
The university said that its work related to risky viruses conform to World Health Organization diagnostic protocols, which includes the pathogens being “inactivated by lysis buffer” before being processed.
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CDC, America’s front line public health agency, has partnered with Manipal Centre for Virus Research (MCVR) to carry out illness surveillance across India
INDIA Updated: Feb 07, 2020 01:04 IST
Sudhi Ranjan Sen
Hindustan Times, New Delhi
India has asked the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop funding research in India without government approval after the agency appeared to have helped an under-qualified Indian laboratory to work on the Nipah virus, a pathogen that is considered a potential bio-weapon, according to officials and government documents accessed by HT.
CDC, America’s front line public health agency, has partnered with Manipal Centre for Virus Research (MCVR) to carry out illness surveillance across India, and government officials who asked not to be named said the agency seems to have helped MCVR study the Nipah virus, a pathogen that belongs to Risk Group 4 (RG4) classification.
...
To be sure, MCVR was designated by the government of Kerala as one of the testing agencies for the Nipah virus during the outbreak.
The concern at present, the two officials cited above said, were related to more detailed studies of the virus and of funding that was not approved by the government.
...
The note added: “Since Nipah is a high-risk pathogen with a potential of being used as Agent of bio-terrorism the samples were to be handled more carefully and tested in a BSL-IV laboratory and not in MCVR… The lapse on part of MCVR in handling Nipah virus samples with active support from CDC has been viewed separately by the ministry of health and family welfare … Therefore, CDC is advised to stop all funding of MCVR/Manipal University …Similarly, funding for any other research activity in the country that is not approved by the ICMR should be stopped immediately.”
...
MCVR denied that it had carried out research into the virus, saying it had carried out detection tests when the outbreak took place and had been asked by the health ministry to stop doing so when the outbreak was deemed over in 2018.
“No virus isolation was done at MIV (Manipal Institute of Virology). Samples were sent to ICMR-NIV Pune for virus isolation work at their BSL-4 laboratory. We have observed/implemented all safety precautions while processing the samples,” said a statement from the office of the Vice Chancellor of Manipal University.
The university said that its work related to risky viruses conform to World Health Organization diagnostic protocols, which includes the pathogens being “inactivated by lysis buffer” before being processed.
...
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