Date:28/03/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/03/28/stories/2006032819661000.htm

National

Pranab's advice to Army doctors

Special Correspondent

"Trusted forces that can tackle outbreak of epidemics, assist during natural disasters"

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday called upon medical professionals in the Army to not only be healers but also emerge as path-breakers in the usage of correct practices in medical science.

"Military medical professionals have a definite role to play, not only as healers but also as path-breakers in the establishment of correct practice of medical science for the betterment of human race as a whole," he said while inaugurating the XVI Asia Pacific Military Medicine Conference (APHMC) here.

Mr. Mukherjee said military medical resources remain the most trusted and capable forces that can tackle outbreak of diseases like SARS, avian influenza and other epidemics.

The armed forces have demonstrated how many of these scourges can be controlled successfully, he added.

Lauding the military medical services as a unique national resource, the Defence Minister said the personnel were frequently called upon to assist during times of natural disasters like earthquakes, as witnessed on the Indo-Pak border, the devastating tsunami in South Asia or the hurricane Katrina that ravaged the United States.

Referring to the expertise gained by military medical personnel in the fields of aerospace medicine, underwater medicine and high altitude medicine, Mr. Mukherjee said knowledge of these extremely demanding physiological situations and effective management of related psycho - physical problems showed the prowess and technological advances attained by them.

He expressed confidence that this could be extrapolated for civilian use at a later stage.