Fondation Mérieux inaugurated its seventh Rodolphe Mérieux Laboratory in Chittagong, Bangladesh today. The new laboratory is part of the Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID). Fondation Mérieux built the laboratory in partnership with the BITID, the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research of Bangladesh (iccdr,b), the Institute for Developing Science and Health Initiative (ideSHi) and the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, with support from Fondation Christophe et Rodolphe Mérieux. The inauguration was held under the auspices of Mr. Mohammed Nasim, MP, the Minister for Health and Family Welfare of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and hosted by Dr. Md. Abu Tayab, Director of the Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases with guests including Engineer Mosharoff Hossain, MP, Minister of Housing & Public Works, Md. Didarul Alam, MP, Bangladesh Parliament and Mr. Alain Mérieux, President of Fondation Mérieux.
The Rodolphe Mérieux Laboratory will be a center of excellence for applied research, training and biological analysis in Bangladesh. Research programs will address one of the biggest threats to health in the country and worldwide, tuberculosis, in addition to other respiratory diseases and enteric infections with diarrhea, all of which are leading causes of death, particularly among children. The laboratory will provide patients with quality diagnosis for improved care, performing both routine and specialized testing. Students in clinical biology and infectious diseases will receive training at the laboratory, strengthening local capacities.
The state-of-the-art facility is 250 m2 and includes Biosafety Level 2 and Biosafety Level 3 laboratories, a laboratory for molecular diagnostics and a sample collection area for patients. The laboratory design was based on the standard ISO 14644 part 4 and 1, “Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments”, and the techniques used in its construction will enable energy savings of 40-60 % compared to standard equipment. In addition to the construction, Fondation Mérieux installed the equipment and is training the laboratory personnel.
About Rodolphe Mérieux Laboratories
The Rodolphe Mérieux Laboratory of Bangladesh joins a network that includes six other Rodolphe Mérieux Laboratories on three continents (Mali, Cambodia, Laos, Haiti, Madagascar and Lebanon). Fondation Mérieux, working closely with Fondation Christophe et Rodolphe Mérieux, has built these laboratories and linked them together to improve the quality and accessibility of diagnosis and to structure high-level applied research on infectious diseases that affect developing countries.
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