Context:
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) recently alerted states about smaller outbreaks for five diseases—typhoid, malaria, dengue, scrub typhus and hepatitis A.
Relevance:
GS II: Health
Dimensions of the Article:
- About National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)
- Historical Background
- Functions
About National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC):
- The NCDC is an institute operating under the Indian Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- The administrative and technical head of the institute is the Director, who is an officer of the Public Health sub-cadre of Central Health Service.
Historical Background:
The NCDC, formerly known as the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), originated as the Central Malaria Bureau established in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh in 1909.
- After expansion, it was renamed as the Malaria Survey of India in 1927.
- The organization was relocated to Delhi in 1938 and became known as the Malaria Institute of India (MII).
- In response to the significant reduction in malaria cases achieved under the National Malaria Eradication Programme (NMEP), the Government of India decided to reorganize and expand the institute’s activities to address other communicable diseases.
- Consequently, in 1963, the MII was renamed as the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) to assume these additional responsibilities.
- In 2009, NICD underwent a transformation and emerged as the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), with an expanded mandate of controlling emerging and re-emerging diseases.
- It is headquartered in New Delhi.
Functions:
- The NCDC serves as the nodal agency in the country for disease surveillance, facilitating the prevention and control of communicable diseases.
- It works in coordination with state governments and possesses the capacity and capability for disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and rapid response to contain and combat outbreaks.
- The NCDC also addresses the issue of Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR), which is an emerging area of concern with far-reaching consequences.
- It provides referral diagnostic support, capacity building, and technical assistance to states and union territories (UTs) in the country.
-Source: The Hindu
