Ludhiana : A delegation of Nepalese technicians headed by Surya Narayan Sharma was in city for a two-week-long training course. The course, which was in laboratory techniques in microbiology, immunology and pathology at GADVASU, Ludhiana, has concluded.

The training covered basic laboratory procedures and techniques employed in the diagnosis of infectious diseases. The course was sponsored by the food and agriculture organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Around 10 veterinary technicians from the department of livestock services, ministry of agriculture and cooperatives of the government of Nepal participated in the training.

The programme was a component under the FAO and the Government of Nepal Agreement on FAO technical assistance to Avian Influenza Control Programme. The prime objective of the course was to train technicians in routine and advanced laboratory techniques and impart knowledge on avian diseases.

The training course was jointly conducted by the departments of veterinary microbiology and veterinary pathology of the College of Veterinary Science, GADVASU, Ludhiana. The heads of departments, including Dr Hari Mohan Saxena (microbiology) and Dr Naresh Sood (pathology) were the coordinators in their respective disciplines, while Dr Saxena was the over-all in charge of the course.

The valedictory function was presided over by Dr PD Juyal, registrar and Dr SNS Randhawa, dean, postgraduate studies was the Chief Guest. Dr Randhawa also distributed certificates to the trainees and released manuals on microbiological and pathological techniques prepared by the faculty of the two departments. Dr Juyal also released compact discs containing the manuals and presented mementos to the faculty involved in the training.