Aiming to take pandemic preparedness to the next level, India plans to showcase a bus with a high-tech testing lab and state-of-the-art facilities for medial personnel at the World Health Assembly in Geneva later this month, before offering to South-east Asian countries for tackling health emergencies.
Asia’s first Biosafety Level-3 (BSL3) laboratory bus, developed by the Indian Council for Medical Research in collaboration with carmaker Mercedes Benz and laboratory manufacturer Klenzaids, will have its first outing at the 75th World Health Assembly on 22-28 May.
The biggest advantage of the bus is that it can be immediately deployed on the field whenever there’s a threat of an outbreak of zoonotic diseases.
Health minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya who is participating in the event will present the Indian innovation. “Our health minister will be interacting with the health ministers of the other countries and WHO representatives at the World Health Assembly.