HYDERABAD, April 20: Speakers at a symposium on microbiology have stressed the need for introducing microbiology in colleges and providing increased research facilities in universities. The department of microbiology of the University of Sindh has organized the two-day national symposium which started on Tuesday. More than 100 scientists, scholars and microbiologists from universities and research institutes from all over the country are attending the symposium.

Vice-Chancellor Mazharul Haq Siddiqui, who presided over the inaugural session, said yoghurt, cheese, vinegar or other fermented beverages were gifts from microbes, which were being used since time immemorial, but on the other hand, some 45 people died in Hyderabad due to contaminated water released from the Manchhar Lake into the Indus River a year back.

He said the same thing was happening in Larkana where reportedly six children died due to water contamination.

He observed that the most radical and dramatic current development in applied microbiology was the ability to alter an organism’s genetic make-up through genetic engineering, which had paved the way to cut, unzip or rebuild the molecule, thereby altering the DNA structure of micro-organism.

He said such genetically engineered micro-organism held great potential to produce drugs and vaccines against some killer or crippling diseases in human and improve agricultural produce.

Mr Siddiqui pointed out that the microbiology subject at the University of Sindh could not get a proper start due to problems of lack of building for the department, insufficient funding and shortage of qualified staff. He said the university had made efforts to improve the situation.

He said with approval of its development project by the Higher Education Commission, the microbiology department would be moved to a more spacious and functionally-built premises which was under construction at a cost of Rs25.68 million.

He said research and general laboratories would be equipped from a grant of Rs9 million.

He called upon the education department to introduce the microbiology at degree colleges.

He said disease eradication was a challenging task in an environment like that of Pakistan where pollution was rampant, only half of the population was literate and one-third of the population lived below the poverty line.