Tarun Karthick
Port Blair, 13 April 2023
Chief Secretary, A & N Administration, Mr. Keshav Chandra, IAS on 12th April 2023, inaugurated the Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) established by ANIIMS , Port Blair with the support of the Ministry of Health Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India at GB Pant Hospital/ANIIMS.
The Commissioner-cum- Secretary (Health), Mr. Nikhil Kumar, IAS, Secretary (Health), Mr. Arjun Sharma, IAS, OSD (ANIIMS), Dr. Anil Aggarwal, Director (ANIIMS), Dr. Pragya Sharma, Director (Health Services), Dr. Munni Singhania, Senior Doctors and faculty of GB Pant Hospital/ ANIIMS, Director (ICMR), Dr. Vijayachari were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Secretary congratulated the Health team for making this facility available here in the Islands. This lab is very important, he remarked and urged the faculty, doctors to continue to strive for newer and innovative solutions in providing better health facilities/ services to the Island population. He said, with the inauguration of this Lab, any viral outbreak can now be detected here itself in the Islands, thereby provide quick response to any such outbreaks. This Lab will also benefit the faculty of ANIIMS, medical students to carry out research in virology, he said. He also directed the concerned officials to identify and ensure that the required infrastructure is put into place at the earliest for the smooth functioning of the lab.
The Chief Secretary was briefed about the functions, procedures and benefits of the Lab by Dr. Ruby Thomas, HoD Microbiology, Nodal Officer, VRDL under ANIIMS (BSL-2), Dr. Shahina. M, Sr. Microbiologist.
The VRDL is a Bio Safety Level (BSL) 2 Lab which is a part of the nationwide network of Labs set up at the level of Medical College in strengthening the infrastructures for timely diagnosis of viral epidemics and continuous monitoring of the existing as well as new viral strains. The VRDL is located on the 1st Floor of the OPD Complex of the GB Pant Hospital, behind ANIIMS Auditorium.