Workshop held on diagnosis of zoonotic diseases at NDRI, Karnal
Karnal, March 19
The ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, completed a national-level workshop on “DNA-based diagnosis of milk-borne zoonotic diseases” for the Masters and PhD scholars of animal science background at the Animal Biotechnology Division of the institute.
The two-week workshop was sponsored by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), DST, Government of India. The valedictory function of the workshop was chaired by Dr Dheer Singh, Director and Vice-Chancellor of the NDRI.
Dr Singh emphasised the significance of diagnosis of bacteria of zoonotic origin in milk and milk products by utilising a comprehensive test of DNA-based tools and high-throughput pathogen diagnosis by lateral flow assay and aptamer-based tools.
He said the rapid and specific detection of the zoonotic pathogens and other hygiene indicator bacteria was the need of the hour.
Dr Singh expressed his belief that training programmes like these can contribute to addressing such issues by equipping the trainees with the expertise and the pioneering research capabilities available at the campus.
Dr Rajan Sharma, Joint Director (Research), NDRI, emphasised the need for increased diagnosis and testing of zoonotic diseases in milk and dairy products in the country.
He elaborated that ICAR-NDRI has taken the lead to train the next line of researchers in the country.
Dr JK Kaushik, Head Animal Biotechnology, said that conducting high-end workshops, and programmes like these increase the core competence of budding researchers.
