Nagaland Bat Study: Govt warns adhere to protocols or face action otherwise

KOHIMA: The Indian Government has ordered to adhere to the protocols while conducting a filovirus study of bats in Nagaland, action will be taken otherwise, said reports.

Bengaluru-based National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) has undertaken a study on bats in Nagaland, which came to light after a report published by a national newspaper The Hindu in February last year.

"All research work has to follow a process and action will be taken if protocols aren’t followed," said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry last week.

Also Read: Assam: AMCH reports its first case of black fungus

The government on June 15 said that there had been “concerning lapses” in the conduct and protocols followed for the study, even as an inter-department row continues over where the bat samples should be stored after a year-long probe.

The study had listed two scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology as “co-authors” and was partially funded by the U.S. Department of Defence through its Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).

The Health Ministry also showed their concern over the storage of the Nagaland bat samples as they want it to be at the Biosafety Level-4 (BSL-4) standard facility at the National Institute of Virology laboratory in Pune rather than NCBS’s Bengaluru facilities that are rated BSL-3.

The Ministry also clarified that the bat study on filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg) is in no way related to the coronavirus (SARs) studies at Wuhan.

Follow us on Facebook