- Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on February 9, 2019 inaugurated the Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV) in Thiruvananthapuram .
- It is a first of its kind research institute which is linked to the Global Virus Network (GVN). The institute is affiliated to the Global Virus Network, which has 45 centres of excellence in over 29 countries.
- It will operate from the Bio 360 Life Sciences Park at Thonnakkal in Thiruvananthapuramy.
- The establishment of the institute was proposed during the Nipah Virus outbreak that struck the state last year.
- The institute can confirm the viruses causing infectious diseases and detect new ones without delay in order to plan preventive measures.
- This kind of vast network of virologists will help in the fast detection and prevention of virus-borne diseases such as Nipah.
- According to the Kerala Chief Minister, Mr P. Vijayan, the Institute of this kind will not only put the state’s health sector on an upward trajectory but will also help to open up new avenues in research areas.
- The institute is equipped with bio-safety level-3 facilities adhering to international standards to detect virus and research programs.
About Global Virus Network (GVN)
- The Global Virus Network (GVN) was co-founded in 2011 by Robert Gallo, MD of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, William Hall, MD, PhD of University College Dublin and the late Reinhard Kurth, MD, PhD, of the Robert Koch Institute.
- It is situated in Baltimore, USA.
- The GVN is an essential and critical defense against viral disease.
- It is a coalition comprised of leading virologists spanning more than 20 countries worldwide, all working to advance knowledge about how viruses make us sick and to develop drugs and vaccines to prevent illness and death. No single institution in the world has expertise in all viral areas.
- GVN brings the best medical virologists together to leverage individual strengths and to focus global teams of scientists on key scientific problems
