India’s Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya laid the foundation stone of new NCDC regional branches and BSL-3 labs to improve pandemic preparedness and disease surveillance. Mandaviya stressed the necessity of NCDC infectious disease surveillance and outbreak response.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said Tuesday that pandemic preparedness and illness surveillance require strong, universal health services.
Mandaviya laid the foundation stone of the NCDC regional branch in Assam, six state branches in Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, West Bengal, and Mizoram, and BSL-3 labs in Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand virtually from here.
He also opened a temporary NCDC branch in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The “One Health” strategy of these new NCDC branches and BSL-3 facilities will improve pandemic preparedness and disease surveillance.
Mandaviya said these regional NCDC branches will fight Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, Kyasanur forest illness, and scrub typhus.
When operational, state NCDC and BSL-3 laboratories will boost regional/state preparedness and response, especially for high-risk pathogen outbreaks, he said.
“The health infrastructure facilities inaugurated today, or for those whose foundation stone has been laid, will substantially boost our regional, district and block level healthcare infrastructure and will further augment the surveillance, diagnostics and public health preparedness and response capacity for any impending outbreak or pandemic in future,” said he.
“Pandemic preparedness and disease surveillance anchored in strong health systems that reach all people, especially the most vulnerable, are crucial to ensure better protection from major disease outbreaks,” stated.
He stressed that NCDC institutions will benefit local residents and that the government is dedicated to improving infectious disease surveillance and outbreak response.
Mandaviya claimed India had fought COVID-19 better than many other nations.
In collaboration with state and municipal governments, the NCDC has pioneered community surveillance, contact tracking, and response.
He added NCDC is the nodal agency for public health monitoring and response, epidemiological assistance, outbreak investigations, and bacterial, viral, zoonotic, and parasitic disease diagnostics.
“Healthcare workers are like soldiers—they can never relax. They must always stay vigilant. Our healthcare army cannot rest; we must improve our monitoring and disease detection skills “minister remarked.
Conclusion
The foundation stone for new NCDC regional branches and BSL-3 labs in India was laid by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. With a “One Health” strategy, these sections will improve pandemic preparedness and disease surveillance. Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, Kyasanur forest illness, and scrub typhus will be combated by the new branches. Once operational, state branches will improve high-risk pathogen epidemic preparedness and response. Mandaviya stressed that these institutions will benefit the local population and that the government is dedicated to improving NCDC for infectious disease surveillance and outbreak response.
