In light of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, a parliamentary panel has advised the government to formulate effective laws to counter bio-terrorism. Highlight COVID-19 as an example, it pointed out the importance of controlling biological agents.
In its report, The Outbreak of Pandemic COVID-19 And Its Management, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health headed by Ram Gopal Yadav as the chairperson, stressed the need of bio-safety to prevent the world community from any activity signalling bio-terrorism. The report said bio-security is a critical area of concern. It also called for instituting robust bio-repositories for high-risk emerging and re-emerging infectious pathogens, strengthening disease surveillance including at animal-human interface, training and capacity building for management of public health emergencies arising from use of bio weapons and strengthening research and surveillance activities related to the development of diagnostics vaccines and drugs.
In May, security experts from the Council of Europe had warned that the global coronavirus outbreak may increase the use of biological weapons by terrorists in the future. It said the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how vulnerable the modern society is to viral diseases and their potential for disruption. Daniel Holtgen, the Council’s spokesperson, said there is no concrete evidence of a due to the pandemic, heightened threat from bio-terrorism, but it does underline the need for continued international cooperation in this field.
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The Parliamentary Standing Committee, on similar lines, said the adverse effects of COVID-19 have taught the lesson on the importance of controlling biological agents and the need for strategic partnerships among different nations. “The Committee feels that the present time is the most appropriate for the government to formulate effective laws to counter bio-terrorism,” the report said. “It also believes that with the expanding network of VRDLS, ICMR would serve as an important platform for diagnosis and surveillance of existing as well as emerging viral infections and thus make the country bio-secured against life-threatening viruses and the menace of bio-terrorism.”
The Committee agreed that a holistic approach is a must for ensuring bio-security against biological weapons. It also called for more research and work for training and capacity building.
