VPH, Microbiological Testing Laboratory starts this year

Staff Reporter :
The government has taken up a project to construct a modern laboratory to ensure supply of safe animal protein along with prevention of various diseases including the Zoonotic diseases that spread among the people from the animals.

Some 80 percent of the project work on the ‘Volatile Petroleum Hydrocarbons (VPH) and Microbiological Testing Laboratory’ under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL) has already been completed which is likely to start operation by this year in Dhaka’s Savar, sources said.

According to sources, along with the physical work, the authority has already procured the machineries and equipment to run the most important testing lab for the country’s livestock sector.

The project authority hoped that the lab can startoperation within three to four months, if funds are available for completion of the works.

Under a project of the ministry – Strengthening the Veterinary Health Services to Protect Public Health Project – the laboratory is being established on Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) ground in Dhaka’s Savar near the Savar Dairy Farm.

Sources, however, said once the modernized laboratory starts operation, it would help the government ensure supply of safe animal protein along with prevention of various diseases including the Zoonotic diseases that spread among the people from the animals. The laboratory is one of the other components under the project.

According to project officials, Tk54.42 crore against the government’s total allocation of Tk59.07 crore was released for the construction work of the five-story building and procuring machineries and equipment for the laboratory. Of the amount, Tk23.08 crore was allocated in the fiscal year of 2022-23.

Under the project of Tk88 crore being implemented in 210 upzilas of 27 districts, 15,000 butchers and meat traders were trained and huge numbers of cattle farmers, who lost their cattle due to four zoonotic diseases (Zoonotic Influenza, Brucellosis, Anthrax and bovine tuberculosis), were given compensation.

While talking to this correspondent, Project Director Dr. Azizur Rahman told that compensations are given through the project to the farmers who have lost cattle due to those diseases.

Each of the farmers was given Tk 80,000 cash and a cub of Tk 40,000 as compensation under the project.

The support was given, so that the farmers can restart cattle nurturing from the fund and survive.

Responding to request of the farmers, the government has taken the initiative to establish modernized laboratories of the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) and train up the farmers, so that they can cull and remove the infected cattle quickly to prevent transmission to others, he added.

Dr. Aziz said that around 80 percent of physical work and 92 percent of financial progress are already completed. Machineries and equipment were procured and installation work is going on.

Hope, the work would be completed within two or three months. Once the laboratory starts functioning, it would help ensure supply of safe protein along with prevention of various diseases including Zoonotic diseases.