http://www.icddrb.org

ICDDR,B (International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh) a pioneer in research in the biomedical area, located at Mohakhali, Dhaka. It was formally established in its present international form in 1979, but its history dates back to the mid-1950s. The incentive for such a research centre came from the dreadful disease cholera, which for many years had killed tens of thousands in this part of the Indian subcontinent. It had a high level of prevalence throughout the year but frequently also broke out in explosive epidemic form. Naturally, the area provided a suitable ground for scientific research on the disease. Fortunately, also, the South East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) which was created in 1956 to counter the spread of communism in Southeast Asia also decided to support research on cholera with the aim of protecting American soldiers fighting in the area. The Pakistan SEATO Cholera Research Laboratory (PSCRL), established in 1960 with its headquarters in Dhaka was jointly run by Pakistan and SEATO. After the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971, PSCRL passed through a difficult time, but its activities continued, albeit at a reduced scale, as Cholera Research Laboratory (CRL).