India’s First mobile COVID-testing laboratory installed 

India’s First mobile COVID-testing laboratory installed 

Part of: GS-Prelims and GS-II – Health 

In News:

• India has set up its first mobile testing laboratory in a bid to meet the growing demand to conduct coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tests.

Key takeaways 

• The mobile laboratory, with on-site Elisa, RtPCR & Bio-chem analysers, was created within eight days by a team from Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone Limited.
• The laboratory can be deployed at remote and inaccessible areas in the country, where there is no such facility.
• The laboratory belongs to the biosafety level 2 (BSL-II) category.

Important value additions 

Biosafety Levels

• BSLs are ranked from one to four. 
• They are categorised on the basis of the organisms that the researchers are dealing with.
• The organisms include viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc.
• SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, belongs to the BSL-II category.
• BSL-I is considered to be the least hazardous, while BSL-IV poses the maximum safety risk. 
• Each level builds on the previous category, adding more layers of constraints and barriers.