AHMEDABAD: For the past two years, a crucial proposal for setting up a regional base for the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has been gathering dust. Had this centre come up in time, it could have helped Gujarat in its crucial battle against infectious diseases.
A 2.5 acre plot just besides NIPER campus in Gandhinagar was identified for setting up the NCDC regional centre. The NCDC had signed an MoU with the Gujarat government on July 23, 2018. Such centres have already come up at Alwar, Kozhikode, Patna, Rajahmundry, Varanasi, Jagdalpur, Coonoor and Bengaluru.
As stated in the MoU, the NCDC was to provide a state-of-the-art laboratory with sophisticated equipment for diagnostic support to the Gujarat government. “The support group was to include experts in public health, microbiology, entomology. Paramedics and technocrats were to be part of the initiative as well,” says a senior state health department official. He adds, “This could have enhanced the capacity and capability of disease surveillance, outbreak investigation and rapid response to combat outbreaks in Gujarat.”
Kerala and Bihar have already moved ahead with implementing the project. Another major advantage of having an NCDC regional wing is the capacity for 24-hour disease surveillance. In a recent research paper by National Institute of Virology, Pune, Gujarat has been mentioned as one of the states that is prone to viral outbreaks. “In this light, a NCDC centre can help the state identify and fight diseases early,” says the senior health official.