Syllabus

GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context: 

Recently, India has joined a global group working to keep the deadly Rinderpest virus (also called "Cattle Plague") safely contained.

More on the news

• The ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal has been officially recognised as a Category A Rinderpest Holding Facility by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
• This announcement was made during the 92nd General Session of the WOAH, held in Paris on 29th May 2025.
• The recognition places India among an elite group of countries trusted with holding the virus safely to prevent its re-emergence.

India’s Role in Stopping the Return of Rinderpest

• To make sure rinderpest doesn’t return, global bodies like WOAH and FAO have allowed only a few top-security labs to keep the virus under strict control.
• In 2012, India’s ICAR-NIHSAD in Bhopal, a high-security (BSL-3) lab, was officially chosen to safely store the rinderpest virus.
• After a detailed inspection in 2025, the lab was awarded the top ‘Category A’ status for one year, proving its ability to handle the virus responsibly.
• With this, India has become one of just six countries in the world trusted to guard this deadly virus and prevent its comeback.

ICAR-NIHSAD

• Established in 1984 as the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL); later renamed NIHSAD.
• It is India’s only Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) lab offering safe accommodation for livestock viruses.
• Specializes in the diagnosis, research, and secure handling of exotic, zoonotic, and foreign animal diseases.
• Reference lab for Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease, by WOAH (World Organisation for Animal Health).
• Operates under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare.
• It Is a part of India’s One Health mission, which operates at the nexus of animal, human and environmental health.

About RinderPest Virus

• Rinderpest, or cattle plague, is a deadly viral disease that causes fever and high mortality in animals with cloven hooves, such as cattle.
• The condition is a result of infection by a virus of the Morbillivirus type within the Paramyxoviridae family.
• While in some animals like sheep and goats, the clinical signs may be slight, the mortality in cattle and buffalo can be very high – in highly susceptible herds, death loss can be up to 100%.
• The virus is also known to infect wild animals like zebus, water buffalo, eland, kudu, wildebeest, various antelopes, bushpigs, warthogs and giraffes.

Transmission of Rinderpest

• Rinderpest spreads through direct contact between infected and healthy animals.
• The virus is present in nasal secretions even before visible symptoms appear.
• As the infection advances, the virus spreads to most body fluids of the animal.
• The outcome is either death or recovery with lifelong immunity, after which the animal eliminates the virus from its system.

Symptoms of Rinderpest

• In cattle, the disease causes high fever, sores in the mouth, runny eyes and nose, and severe diarrhea, which leads to dehydration and often death within 10–15 days.
• Other animals like deer, buffalo, or antelope may show mild or no symptoms.
• Humans are not affected by Rinderpest, so there is no threat to public health.
• The disease was once widespread in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
• Rinderpest was officially declared eradicated in 2011, making it one of the very few diseases eliminated globally.

Mains MCQ

India has recently been recognised as a Category a Rinderpest Holding Facility by global organisations. In this context, discuss the significance of ICAR-NIHSAD in the containment of transboundary animal diseases and India’s contribution to global veterinary health security.