Archive · 16 Jun 2025
India Joins Elite Group for Rinderpest Virus Containment
Once known as "cattle plague", rinderpest was a dangerous disease.
It was wiped out in 2011, but some of the virus is kept in special labs.
India's ICAR-NIHSAD lab in Bhopal is now one of these safe places.
This lab is like a high-security vault for the virus.
Experts from around the world checked the lab.
They made sure it could keep the virus safe.
India is now one of only six places in the world that can do this.
This helps keep animals all over the world healthy.
ICAR-NIHSAD, Bhopal, is recognized as a Category A Rinderpest Holding Facility (RHF).
The recognition was announced at the 92nd WOAH General Session in Paris on May 29, 2025.
Rinderpest, eradicated in 2011, is kept in high-security labs due to potential risks.
India applied for RHF status in 2019 and underwent a joint inspection in March 2025.
India joins a select group of six facilities globally holding rinderpest virus material.
- Who
- ICAR-NIHSAD, WOAH, and FAO of the UN.
- What
- ICAR-NIHSAD in Bhopal recognized as Category A Rinderpest Holding Facility.
- When
- Announced May 29, 2025, after inspection in March 2025.
- Where
- ICAR-NIHSAD in Bhopal, India, recognized globally.
- Why
- To securely hold rinderpest virus material and preserve global freedom from the disease.
- Facility Name
- ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD)
- Category
- A Rinderpest Holding Facility
- Location
- Bhopal, India
- Recognition by
- WOAH and FAO of the UN
- Date of Announcement
- May 29, 2025
- Previous designation
- WOAH reference laboratory for avian influenza.
- Original name of rinderpest
- cattle plague