A national level Vector Science Forum has been created in the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) headquarters at New Delhi to bring together all institutions involved in research/prevention of vector-borne diseases and put their work in application mode.
“The Forum will be open to all and any institution in the country which is interested can associate itself with this initiative,” V. M. Katoch, ICMR Director General, has said.
Objective
Speaking to The Hindu here on Sunday, he said that the objective of having the Vector Science Forum was to see that no institution works in isolation and to make it a comprehensive/collective effort in fighting the mosquito borne diseases.
“We will be able to pool their knowledge and apply their research work on the field. The Forum is open to all and researchers can get in touch with the ICMR headquarters in this regard,” Dr. Katoch said.
The members of this Forum will meet at least once in a year.
The Director General was in the city to participate in the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the new campus for Centre for Research in Medical Entomology, a laboratory under the ICMR.
Asked about the A(H1N1) influenza, he said that it has become endemic in nature and would take two years to stabilise.
Not alarming
“In Kerala, more cases of influenza were reported during the last two or three months. We at the ICMR feel that there is nothing alarming but public health authorities should not delay treatment for the affected persons,” he advised.
According to Dr. Katoch, two vaccines have been made available already for A(H1N1) and two more vaccines will be launched in the next few months.
