The health sector in Kerala is all set to have a major boost with the inauguration of the Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV) by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Thonnakkal on February 9.

The institute, opened at Thonnakkal Bio 360 Life Science Park in 25 acres of land, is the first virology institute in India  affiliated to Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition of world’s leading virologists. At present, Kerala depends on institutes outside the state for detecting certain viruses, due to lack of advanced facilities.

With the advent of this international research institute, the state can do away with such limitations. It was in record time that the government was able to complete the first stage of the institute. The foundation stone was laid by Chief Minister on May 30, 2018 and the first phase with 28,000 sq ft building was completed by January; it shows the determination of the authorities in setting up such a facility.

“Initially, the institute will be linked to a European Centre like the one in Karolinska Institute, famous for awarding Nobel Prizes and to an Asian Centre like the one in Japan, as an affiliate, until IAV becomes a full-fledged centre," said Dr M V Pillai, senior advisor, Global Virus Network.

"These two institutes will train and guide the faculty and physicians. Under their training, we expect the institute to grow within two years as GVN centre of excellence,” he added.

“The Global Virus Network has 45 centres of excellence spanning over 29 countries. The Thonnakkal institute will be connected to all these centres and this kind of vast network of virologists will help in fast detection and prevention of virus-borne diseases such as Nipah,” he said.

Bio-safety level- 3 facilities adhering to international standards will be implemented in the institute. Apart from facilities to detect virus and research programs, the institute will run various academic programs in the near future. “The linkage to the international network provides added advantage in research related activities too. Once you join the network, funding for research becomes easier,” said Dr M V Pillai. It was during the period of last government that M V Pillai approached the state with a proposal of setting up virology institute.

Later, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took initiative to revive the proposal two years back and directed Kerala State Council for Science, Technology & Environment and four scientists - Dr Suresh Das, Dr M C Dattan, Dr G M Nair and Dr Pradeep Kumar to speed up the procedures and to make it a reality. “Once the project is completed, the state will have about 1 lakh sq ft facility with international standards,” Dr M V Pillai said.

The institute envisages growth in terms of research and treatment efficiency. During the first phase of opening of the institute, focus will be on setting up world-class laboratories to diagnose viral infections common in India. During second phase, epidemiological study will be conducted among Keralites, which will help determining the factors associated with specific diseases and analyse the factors that may help prevent diseases.

In the third phase, the focus will be on virus-related cancer and in the fourth phase training will be given to medical doctors as clinical virologists, so that they can detect and treat diseases with more efficiency. In the fifth phase, the institute will focus on the production of vaccines, said Dr M V Pillai.

There is no time-frame fixed for each phases, as of now. It all depends on the enthusiasm and the resources, said Dr M V Pillai. Dr. Christian Brechot, President, GVN; Dr. William Hall, School of Medicine, University College, Dublin; Dr. Shyamasundaran Kottilil, Director of Clinical Research at the Institute of Human Virology, USA and alumnus of Medical College Thrissur; Dr. M. V Pillai, clinical professor of Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, USA and alumnus of Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram and Dr M. Sarngadharan (Member, GVN), Lipton Bionetics, Kensington, USA attended the function.

Later, an “International Virology Discussion Meet” was held to discuss and formulate the future activities of IAV for tackling the emerging and re-emerging viral infections. The meet also explored the future collaborations with the major institutions in the country and abroad.