Teams deployed to assess measles cases
NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday said that it has decided to depute three high-level multi-disciplinary 3-member teams to Ranchi, Ahmedabad, and Malappuram (Kerala) to take stock of the upsurge in cases of measles.
The teams will assist the state health authorities in instituting public health measures and facilitate operationalisation of requisite control and containment measures, said the ministry.
The Central team to Ranchi comprises of experts drawn from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi, and the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RMLH), New Delhi. Experts from PHO, Mumbai, the Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital (KSCH), New Delhi and the Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare Ministry, Ahmedabad will comprise the Central team to Ahmedabad and the team to Malappuram will consist of experts from the ministry’s regional office, Thiruvananthapuram, the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, and the Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), New Delhi.
Senior Regional Directors, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Kerala will coordinate with the respective teams regarding their visits.
The teams will also undertake field visits to investigate the outbreak and assist the state Health Departments in terms of public health measures, management guidelines and protocols to manage the increasing cases of measles being reported in the three cities.
The teams will also coordinate with the respective states for ensuring active case search in the area and with VRDLS for testing of the identified cases.
Separaetly, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday launched AMLAN (Anaemia Mukta Lakhya Abhiyan) -- a multi-pronged approach for accelerated reduction of anaemia among targeted groups.
Launching the programme on a virtual plaform, the chief minister said it is the state’s own programme for making the state free from anaemia, especially women and children.
The programme will be carried out by several departments including health & Family Welfare, School & Mass Education, Women & Child Development, Mission Shakti and ST & SC Development.
The programme will benefit about 1.37 crore people, which includes pregnant women, lactating mothers, women of reproductive age group, adolescents and children, he said.