Question : Prevention of Epidemics

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has prepared a list of all epidemics that regularly affect some or other parts of the country and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the pre-emptive measures taken by the Government to reduce the toll caused by such epidemics and increase the Government response time;

(c) whether the Government has reviewed the preparedness of the States/ UTs and adequacy of availability of drugs and vaccines to deal with cases of various epidemics and if so, the details thereof; and

(d) the further measures being taken by the Government for proper management of epidemics like bird flu and creation of health infrastructure for its early and precise detection and treatment?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) & (b): Under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), district wise epidemics/outbreaks are monitored on a weekly basis. According to the data obtained under IDSP, outbreaks of certain diseases, such as, Acute diarrheal diseases, food poisoning, Measles, Cholera, Chickenpox, Chikungunya, Dengue, Influenza and other acute respiratory illnesses, viral fever, etc. regularly affect some part or the other of the country. These outbreaks are investigated and timely public health interventions are implemented. The Central Government augments the efforts of the State Governments to timely detect and respond to outbreaks.

The IDSP is being implemented through the National Centre for Disease Control in all districts & States/UTs with the objective to detect and respond to disease outbreaks due to epidemic prone diseases. To prevent the spread of such outbreaks, States/UTs are provided with additional manpower, training of identified Rapid Response Team (RRT) members for outbreak investigations, strengthening of laboratories for detection of epidemic prone diseases, IT equipment for data entry, analysis and data transfer, and provision of funds for operationalization of the Programme.
(c): Government reviews the preparedness and response measures for diseases with epidemic potential, such as, Seasonal influenza, Chikungunya, Dengue, Ebola and Zika with the concerned State Governments. Government also make efforts to ensure availability of drugs, vaccine, personal protective equipment and insecticides, etc.

(d): No human case of Avian influenza (Bird flu) has been reported in India. However a contingency plan is in place for implementation whenever the Department of Animal Husbandry issues notification of outbreak of Avian Influenza among birds which, inter-alia, includes:
i. Central rapid response teams are deputed to the affected area.

ii. Microplan is developed and implemented.

iii. Active house to house surveillance is undertaken to detect human case of avian influenza.

iv. National Institute of Virology, Pune and National Center for Disease Control, Delhi are the apex laboratories to test human samples.

v. Hospitals, near to epicenter are identified and strengthened to manage human cases of Avian Influenza.

vi. Public awareness is created to reduce human exposure to infected birds.

vii. The health of the animal husbandry staff involved in culling operations is monitored and they are provided prophylaxis with drug oseltamivir.