The Leptospirosis Research Laboratory of the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TNVASU) has been awarded ISO 9001:2000 certification for its quality management systems by the British Standards Institution.

S Narayanan, regional manager of the British Standards Institution handed over the certification to R Kadirvel, vice chancellor, TNVASU, at a function held here in Chennai, in the presence of A Koteeswaran, director, TNVASU, Edwin Chelliah, ISO consultant, KS Venkataraman, associate professor, TNVASU etc.

According to sources, the laboratory was started in 1992 to develop a “Leptosporia’ vaccine for cattle, and for diagnostic services related to human and animal leptospirosis. The lab has advanced instruments like master cycler, ELISA Reader, gel documentation and bio-safety cabinet for testing leptospirosis in humans and animals. The lab has so far tested over half a lakh human samples and over 5500 animal specimens for diagnosing leptospirosis. The disease is mainly infected through blood transfusion and kidney transplantation in humans.