Health Minister J P Nadda on April 25 directed officials to mount aggressive campaigns to increase awareness on prevention and control of vector-borne diseases and specifically asked nodal officers to visit Kalaazar endemic states of Bihar and Jharkhand.



He also directed Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan to speak to state health secretaries to gear up for prevention and control of mosquito-borne diseases before the season for these diseases starts. Nadda said he would speak to health ministers of endemic states to ensure that these states are prepared with necessary medicines and kits. The minister said he would also ask them to take up aggressive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaigns in their states. Nadda also directed officials to organise and complete the Training of Trainers (ToT) for 125 doctors for management of H1NI cases "well in time".

He gave these directions while chairing a high-level meeting to review the preparedness of his ministry for prevention and control of vector-borne diseases such as Kalaazar, Dengue, Malaria and Chickungunya in the country. "Nadda also asked secretary (Health) to speak to the state health secretaries to gear up for the prevention and control of vector borne diseases. "The Health Minister further directed the officials and nodal officers to visit Kalaazar endemic states of Jharkhand and Bihar immediately and report to him by next Wednesday," an official statement said. Sudan and other senior officers of the Union Health Ministry, National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) were present in the meeting.