(a) Whether several states in the country are witnessing unprecedented epidemic outbreaks during the current year;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefore; and
(c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Union Government to check the spread of epidemic diseases in the country?
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE (DR. ANBUMANI RAMADOSS)
(a) to ( c) There have been epidemic outbreaks in the country during the current year including outbreaks of dengue in West Bengal; Japanese Encephalitis in some districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Saharanpur and adjoining districts in Western Uttar Pradesh; Leptospirosis in parts of South Gujarat, Mumbai and adjoining districts in Maharashtra; and Anthrax in Koraput district of Orissa.
Health is primarily a State subject and the State Governments are required to take necessary action for effective surveillance, early detection and quick response to epidemic outbreaks. The Union Government supplements the efforts of the State Government by providing technical guidance and other necessary inputs.
For effective surveillance and early detection of epidemic outbreaks, National Surveillance Programme for Communicable Diseases (NSPCD) was implemented in 101 districts of the country, which has been replaced by a comprehensive programme Integrated Diseases Surveillance Project (IDSP) in November 2004. IDSP will cover all districts of the country by 2006-07 in a phased manner. The objective of IDSP is to establish a decentralized state based system of surveillance for communicable and non-communicable diseases so that timely and effective public health action can be initiated in response to health challenges in the country.