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News: Union Defence Minister inaugurated a Mobile Viral Research Lab (MVRL)
Facts:
- Developed by: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
- It is the combination of a BSL 3 lab and a BSL 2 lab built as per WHO and ICMR Bio-safety standards
- Significance:
- Can be positioned anywhere in the country as per requirements
- Can carry out diagnosis of COVID-19
- Can carry out virus culturing for drug screening,
- Carry out Convalescent plasma derived therapy, comprehensive immune profiling of COVID-19 patients
Additional Facts:
Biosafety Level (BSL)
- It is a set of biocontainment precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents in a laboratory. There are four biosafety levels
- BSL–1: It applies to laboratory settings in which personnel work with low-risk microbes. Eg. E. coli
- BSL-2: It applies to laboratories that work with pathogenic or infectious organisms that pose a moderate health hazard. E.g. HIV
- BSL-3: It applies to laboratories which work on microbes that are either indigenous or exotic, and can cause serious or potentially lethal disease through inhalation. E.g. West Nile fever, tuberculosis etc.
- BSL-4: It applies to laboratories which work with highly dangerous and exotic microbes. E.g. Ebola.
