vector- borne diseases, health minister J P Nadda said the government would strengthen surveillance and diagnostic systems. A total of 632 people died due to influenza (H1N1), while Aedes Aegypti (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) claimed 279 and 60 lives, respectively, this year till July 16, according to data provided by the minister as part of a written reply.
As per data available for this year, while 22 people died on account of dengue till July 9, Malaria claimed the lives of 17 people in 2017 up to May. Altogether, 1,010 people have died this year due to these vector-borne diseases. Listing out the steps taken to combat vector-borne diseases, the minister said there is also coordination with the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) to detect early warning signals such as any upsurge in fever cases or any reports of malaria outbreaks.
Asked whether the government plans to start a national programme in public private partnership mode for prevention of vector-borne diseases, Nadda said there is no such proposal as on date.
He, however, mentioned about the memorandum of understanding between Madhya Pradesh, ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) and Sun Pharma for the malaria elimination initiatives, among other such programmes. The minister also said the Centre ensures deputation of teams with specialist doctors to guide and supervise the efforts of the state governments to help in reduction of morbidity and mortality due to the outbreak of vector-borne diseases.
To another question, Nadda said there is no proposal at the ministry level to get ISO certification for primary and community health centres. “National Quality Assurance Programme (NQAP) has been rolled out, under which quality standards for different health facilities, including primary health centres and community health centres have been defined and these health facilities are assessed against them and certified,” he said.
As far as quality assurance of these centres is concerned, it is for the states to see, Nadda said, adding that the central government provides technical and financial support. There are 25,354 functional primary health centres and 5,510 community health centres in the country, official data showed.
