SHILLONG: A two-day regional consultative conference of heads of health functionaries of North Eastern Region and State Level Programme officers on swine flu and other emerging infectious diseases concluded today in North Eastern Council Secretariat (NEC). The objective of the conference is to sensitize the functionaries on the issues of swine flu and other emerging infectious diseases and bring to the fore front the control measures and contingency plans needs to be placed in their respective states under national infection disease control programmes. The conference is organized with financial support from NEC in association with NEIGRIHMS and Academy of Respiratory Diseases India.
The conference was attended by Ashok Kumar, Additional Director General of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. Other prominent personalities like Prof. K. C. Mohanty, Governor of Environmental Society of India, who attended the conference along with his team of experts from Mumbai.
Ashok Kumar, Additional Director General of Central Health Services of Government of India, while addressing as Chief Guest in the opening day of the conference said that Government of India is aware of the need to strengthen the health care facilities in NER and taking all necessary steps to improve the health care delivery system. He further said responding to queries from participant that NEIGRIHMS being a premier and centrally located institute in Meghalaya should be accredited for H1N1 laboratory testing facilities at the earliest and assured that Ministry will take immediate action to accredit the NEIGRIHMS laboratory for the purpose. This will benefit the Meghalaya and other NER States.
A presentation on “Silver Jubilee of HIV/AIDS in India” was made by I. S. Gilada, who attended the conference coming from Mumbai. He expressed his great concerns with the NER. He is known for being the pioneer medical professional who started treatment of HIV/AIDS in India. He reminded the days when HIV/AIDS was initially reported in the country and the patients faced large social decimation from the society. He stressed upon the need that HIV/AIDS patient’s needs treatment for their ailment like any other disease. They should not be discriminated in hospital or society.
The major resolutions taken by the conference includes pursing with the Government of India to establish diagnostic facilities and laboratories in all NER States so that the suspected cases are identified immediately and proper treatment can be started to reduce the spread probability of the infectious viruses.
Another resolution taken by the conference is to make the health care delivery system in the NER state to gear the surveillance activities in their respective states even if they have no reported cases of the flu.
Presenting the Meghalaya Health scenario, State officials from Meghalaya Government stated that there has not been a single confirmed case of swine flu in the state. Four samples of suspected cases of swine flu were sent to Dibrugarh Medical College for testing and found negative. The officials said that they have prepared action plan for control of the infectious diseases. A 14 member EVD/H1N1 Committee of the officials from the state health department has been formed and the Committee has till date 24 weekly meetings. A comprehensive action plan has been prepared.
Ameisign Luikham, Secretary, NEC in his concluding remarks thanked all the participants who had come all over the country to discuss the critical health issues in NER and said that the conference is very important in view of the recent rise in the cases of spread of the swine flu and other emerging infectious diseases and will establish a platform for health sector in NER to prepare them to fight against these diseases.
