In view of reports of a surge in respiratory illnesses in China, the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDL) network under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been asked to test all samples of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI), with a particular focus on samples from children, Parliament was informed on Friday.
Further, a list of priority viral and bacterial agents (including mycoplasma pneumoniae), for which the samples need to be tested, has been shared with the VRDL network, Minister of State for Health S P Singh Baghel said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
“While WHO, in the context of surge in respiratory illness in China, has not recommended any trade/travel restrictions, the health ministry continues to maintain a close watch over the evolving situation in China, as well as globally,” Baghel said.
He said the World Health Organisation (WHO), in statements issued on November 22 and 23, reported an increase in the incidence of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) in northern China that is being witnessed since October. It has been attributed to a rise in the circulation of known pathogens (including influenza, mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and SARS-CoV-2) by Chinese authorities, the minister added.
The health ministry, in an advisory issued on 25 November, requested all states and Union territories to review their public health and hospital preparedness and response capacities, including a review of the requisite human resource, hospital beds, testing capacities, availability of medical countermeasures and adequate provisioning of infection-control practices at health facilities.
Reiterating the ministry’s guidance on “Operational Guidelines for Revised Surveillance Strategy in context of COVID-19”, the states have been requested to strengthen ILI/SARI surveillance for respiratory diseases and report it regularly on the IDSP-IHIP platform.
For a timely detection of disease outbreaks, disease surveillance activities have been strengthened under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) that allows for a decentralised system of trained rapid response teams at the central, state and district levels to monitor disease trends and institute requisite public health control and containment measures in the early phase of outbreaks.
