U.P. govt, NCDC sign MoU to set up centre in Lko

LUCKNOW : A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up the National Centre for Disease Control ( NCDC) in Uttar Pradesh was signed on Tuesday. NCDC studies disease outbreaks and management of treatment for future policy on health.

The centre would be coming up in Lucknow and would help in integrated disease surveillance, expansion of diagnostic referral services, preparing health infrastructure for possible disease outbreaks, entomological surveillance focused upon vector-borne diseases and upgrading the state’s preparedness for treatment/ management of the patients, monitoring of logistics.

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet had okayed the transfer of 2.5 acre land, free of cost, in Jaitikheda village of Sarojininagar, to National Centre for Disease

Control (NCDC), New Delhi, to set up a branch in April last month.

The NCDC centre in Lucknow will have different subdivisions including the infectious diseases department, biostats department, genetic disease department, vaccinepreventable disease department pathology department, inter- regional coordination department, non-communicable disease department, climate change, environment department, and microbiology department.

“With the Covid- 19 pandemic, it has become significant that we remain prepared with state-level disease surveillance and diagnostic facilities. Also, training of medical staff shall improve further,” said deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak, who is also the health minister. He was present during the signing of the MoU.

Pranesh Chandra, joint secretary with the UP government signed the MoU on behalf of the state while Anil D Patil, additional director, NCDC, and Dr Shikha Vardhan, joint secretary and head of NCDC branches, signed the MoU.

“The NCDC will also help in the control of diseases such as dengue, Japanese encephalitis and chikungunya in the state,” said a statement from the state government. The NCDC will also help establish a BSL-IV lab in Banda district.

The NCDC will also help in the control of diseases such as dengue, Japanese encephalitis and chikungunya in the state