Venkateshwara Bio rolls out cheap bird flu disinfectant

Venkateshwara Biosentry India Ltd (VBIL), a joint venture between the Rs 3,000 crore Venkateshwara Hatcheries group and the US-based bio-security company Biosentry Inc, has developed an edible category of disinfectant, B-904, for use in the poultry industry. This would protect poultry birds from the deadly bird flu.

The effective user cost of the disinfectant comes to only 3 paise per sq ft. Its safety and effectiveness has been certified by Gibraltar Labs Inc, US, said O P Singh, chief executive officer of Venkateshwara Hatcheries.

Singh claimed that the disinfectant could eliminate the deadly avionic virus. "Within 10 minutes of coming in contact with our disinfectant, the virus will die," he said.

He added that VBIL's main focus would be to provide bio-security to Indians in areas such as food and healthcare.

While developed countries spend between 9-12 per cent of their healthcare budget on bio-security, it is not even 1 per cent in our country, Singh pointed out.

He added VBIL, which has a manufacturing facility at Patvi near Ambala, is also coming up with a research centre with an investment of Rs 20 crore.

"We launched disinfectants for humans three months earlier, which could be utilised in hospitals, food processing industry and at other establishments," he added.