♦ India has secured a prestigious position in global animal health with the designation of the ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal as a Category A Rinderpest Holding Facility (RHF) by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

♦ The recognition was The achievement highlights India’s commitment to international disease control standards and reinforces its pivotal role in safeguarding global animal health.

♦ This milestone places India among an elite group of six global facilities tasked with securely managing rinderpest virus material, underscoring the nation’s leadership in animal health, biosecurity, and the One Health framework.

♦ Rinderpest, historically known as “cattle plague,” was a devastating livestock disease eradicated globally in 2011.

♦ To prevent its re-emergence, WOAH and FAO restrict the storage of Rinderpest Virus-Containing Material (RVCM) to aselect few high-security laboratories worldwide.

♦ ICAR-NIHSAD, a Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) facility and WOAH reference laboratory for avian influenza, was designated as India’s RVCM repository in 2012.