The high-level review meeting regarding preparedness in the country for dealing with any outbreak of Avian Influenza was held under the chairmanship of the Hon’ble Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss today. The meeting was attended by Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, Director General of Health Services, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research and other senior scientists and officials.
It was noted with satisfaction that since the outbreak of Avian Flue during January 2006, surveillance capacity has been considerably strengthened. A strategic plan for pandemic preparedness has been put in place. One BSL-3 laboratory has been commissioned at NICD, Delhi and two more are being set up at Kolkata and Guwahati. Equipments like ventilators and semi-automatic analyzers are being procured for critical care management.The Health Minister emphasized the need to keep State Governments in a state of readiness and to create effective emergency response mechanisms for tackling any disease outbreak. He also stressed on proactive measures like preparation of contingency plan, constitutional and training rapid response teams, standard operating procedures, stockpiling of anti-viral drugs, personal protective equipments, etc.
Source-PIB
SRM
