Due to various diseases affecting animals and birds in Nepal, there has been an adverse impact on livestock production, public health, and trade in animals and animal-based products. Therefore, there is a need for a system to produce high-quality and reliable vaccines within the country for the control and eradication of animal diseases.
Initially, in the process of controlling and eradicating goat pox disease, a Disease Diagnosis Laboratory was established in 1963 with the primary goal of identifying diseases in animals and birds and producing vaccines against goat pox using goat tissue. From 1967, this laboratory started producing Hemorrhagic Septicemia (H.S.) vaccine, and in 1968, it began the production of vaccines against Newcastle Disease and Fowlpox. In 1971, this laboratory was further developed and established as a separate entity known as the Biological Production Laboratory.
At first, the Biological Production Laboratory produced vaccines in limited quantities. However, after 1985, with the addition of machinery and equipment through the support of the First Livestock Development Project, production increased. Initially, poultry vaccines were produced using local eggs, but from 1997, with financial support from the SVSLDC project, vaccines began to be produced using SPF (Specific Pathogen-Free) eggs.
When Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) disease appeared in Nepal in 1995, a Tissue Culture Unit was established in 2000 with technical and financial support from the SVSLDC project for its control. This enabled the laboratory to begin producing homologous tissue culture vaccines against PPR, making Nepal the first country in South Asia to produce a PPR vaccine. At present, the laboratory also produces PPR hyperimmune serum for use during outbreaks.
In 2006, the laboratory began producing H.S. aerosol vaccines, and in 2008, it started production of Newcastle Disease I-2 vaccine. Initially, vaccines produced by the laboratory were distributed free of cost, but since 1989, except for a few vaccines, most have been distributed at minimal cost.
Currently, the laboratory provides vaccines against PPR, Swine Fever, H.S., Black Quarter (B.Q.), and Newcastle Disease—both free of cost for national disease control programs and at cost for general use.
This laboratory is the only one in Nepal that produces vaccines for animals and birds. It has played a crucial role in the eradication of goat pox and the control of various other animal and poultry diseases. It produces vaccines at the national level in accordance with the standards, guidelines, and recommendations of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). Despite having limited resources, infrastructure, and manpower, the laboratory aims to function as a national body focused on the production and development of vaccines and biological products for animals, and to take full responsibility in this regard.