The Hindu : WHO to step up surveillance against plague

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 28, 2002

National

National

WHO to step up surveillance against plague

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JUNE 27. Wiser by the experience of the recent plague epidemic in Himachal Pradesh, the World Health Organisation has taken up an exercise to strengthen the surveillance mechanism against the deadly bacteria in India and countries in the South-East Asia region, where the disease was endemic and, consequently, there was always a danger of its outbreak.

To begin with, it has convened a meeting of health experts and administrators for an in-depth discussion. To be held in Bangalore, the three-day consultation, in the middle of next month, would focus on the lessons emerging out of the epidemic in Himachal Pradesh.

One of the major issues that came to the fore during the outbreak was that the State had not taken precautionary measures despite repeated reminders by organisations such as the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).

The area that was affected had been well documented to be prone to plague and the State Government had for a long time even had a special surveillance system to prevent its outbreak. But, about a decade ago, the system was dismantled purportedly because of paucity of funds and also because there had not been any outbreak for a long time. Following the plague epidemic in Surat in 1994, the State was alerted to restore the system, but it remained indifferent despite repeated reminders.

In the country as a whole, four areas are known to be focal points for the plague bacteria — one is in the region near Kolar at the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the second in the Latur-Beed belt in Maharashtra from where the Surat plague is considered to have emanated, the third in Rhoru in Himachal Pradesh, where the recent epidemic took place, and the fourth is a small pocket in Uttaranchal.

The meet is also expected to formulate a media strategy to ensure that whenever there was an epidemic, the public would be provided with timely and correct information so that there would be no panic as seen during the Surat experience.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National