Vardhan inaugurates state-of-the-art lab at NCDC

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday inaugurated a state-of-the-art laboratory complex at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in a bid to give impetus to laboratory diagnosis of emerging diseases of public health importance.

The NCDC has contributed phenomenally in elimination and eradication of several diseases of public health importance such as smallpox, polio, guinea-worm and yaws, he said at the 110th Annual Day celebrations of NCDC.

He also inaugurated the new building of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP). The L3 laboratory complex inaugurated has five floors and houses 22 bio-safety level (BSL) II laboratories.

"Setting up of this state-of-art laboratory will give impetus to laboratory diagnosis of various emerging diseases of public health importance," he said.

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vardhan said that under his leadership India is going to witness the elimination of diseases like tuberculosis, leprosy, measles, malaria and kala azar where the NCDC is poised to play a very pivotal role.

He said that the Health Ministry is committed to end TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target of 2030.

Congratulating NCDC for its contribution in containing Nipah, Vardhan said the recent multi-sectoral response coordinated by the government for combating the outbreak in Kerala is another feather in its cap.

"It has strengthened the outbreak detection and response capacities and reduced turnaround time for quick decision-making. We will take measures to further make it a state-of-the-art emergency operations centre," he said.

The minister also commended NCDC's role in supporting Bihar to manage AES.

The NCDC's upgradation plan is also an ambitious one to keep pace with the changing public health needs of the country and there is a blueprint to build 50 labs in this campus alone, Vardhan said.

He said six centres of NCDC will soon be set up across the country in Lucknow, Ranchi, Patna, Imphal, Dimapur and Thiruvananthapuram.