Disease research centre

Bhubaneswar: The Union ministry of health and family welfare will set up a branch of the National Centre for Disease Control here to boost research on communicable diseases prevalent in the state.

The centre, with its headquarters in New Delhi, has eight branches in Alwar (Rajasthan), Bangalore (Karnataka), Kozhikode (Kerala), Coonoor (Tamil Nadu), Jagdalpur (Chattishgarh), Patna (Bihar), Rajahmundry (Andhra Pradesh) and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).

“We requested the Khurda district administration to find a suitable land for the branch after receiving communication from the Centre,” said an official of the state health and family welfare department.

Once established, the centre will facilitate research and training in communicable diseases such as including HIV/AIDS, malaria, dengue, H1N1 influenza, Japanese encephalitis, cholera, measles, rubella, tuberculosis and pox.

A health officials said the centre would have separate divisions for separate communicable diseases equipped with modern laboratories for tests. It will also have a 24×7 disease monitoring cell to operate round-the-clock and respond to enquiries related to outbreaks of diseases.

The need for such a centre was necessitated after different parts of Odisha witnessed outbreaks of dengue, malaria and Japanese encephalitis.

“We had requested such an institute in 2016 and now our request has been granted,” said the official.

He said the proposed institute would help find reasons behind outbreaks of different diseases and suggest steps to stop their recurrence. It will also help officials, health providers and the public to get to know about the diseases and take steps to prevent them.

Bhubaneswar is already home to the Regional Medical Research Centre that undertakes research in fields such as lymphatic filariais, malaria, diarrhoeal disorders, tuberculosis, emerging and re-emerging bacterial or viral infections, haemoglobinopathy and allied disorders, hypertension, diabetes and health problems related to populations of tribal communities.

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