Opening new offices in various states to strengthen NCDC: Vardhan

He said The govt has also reached an agreement with CDC Atlanta in the US to gain knowledge about new types of diseases

Despite various efforts, vector-borne diseases could not be totally eradicated, therefore, government has upped steps to ensure that least number of people are affected by it.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan informed the Lok Sabha that government undertakes year round activities to ensure control of vector-borne diseaes.

Before the onset of monsoon, spraying and fogging is carried out, he said, adding total eradication could not take place despite various efforts.

Vardhan said efforts are on to strengthen the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) by opening new offices in various states. The government has also reached an agreement with CDC Atlanta in the United States to gain knowledge about new types of diseases and organisms so that steps can be taken back home to check their spread through strategy formed at the field level.

Responding to supplementaries, the minister said the National Health Mission is completing a decade and the government is going for its detailed review in a professional manner.

He said the department of health research has taken many new initiatives to strengthen research in the area of communicable diseases for the purpose of surveillance, treatment and to scale up diagnistic facilities which include a new scheme for establishment of Network of Viral Research and Diagnostics Laboratories for managing epidemics and natural calamaties.