PM Modi to lay foundation of National Institute for One Health in Nagpur

New Delhi [India], December 10 (ANI): With an aim to boost India's health research, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the National Institute for One Health and inaugurate the Centre for Research, Management and Control of Haemoglobinopathies, in Nagpur on Sunday.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, these new institutes of medical excellence will further expedite the country's efforts in enhancing health research to serve vulnerable populations of the country.
With increased interaction between humans and animals -- domestic and wild, and influenced by climate change, human health can no longer be seen in isolation. More than half of all infections that people get can be spread by animals. In this context, the National Institute for One Health in Nagpur will focus on increasing preparedness and laboratory capabilities for the identification of novel and unknown zoonotic agents, the Health Ministry statement said.
This dedicated institute will be equipped with the Bio Safety Level (BSL-IV) laboratory. It will help investigate outbreaks of emerging zoonotic agents concerned with public health and develop better control strategies.
The Union Health Ministry said the prevalence of Sickle Cell disease in the Vidarbha region of Central India, especially in the tribal population, is high, with expected carrier frequency as high as 35 per cent in certain tribal groups.
Realising this issue and the spread of similar diseases in the country, ICMR - Centre for Research, Management and Control of Haemoglobinopathies has been set up that will play a leading role in research on haemoglobinopathies and similar diseases in the country. The centre is equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic and research facilities including bio-banking and proteomics facilities, which will enable India to conduct pathbreaking research on the disease, the statement said.
This centre of medical excellence is dedicated to haemoglobinopathies, which are inherited haemoglobin disorders and include b-thalassemia syndromes and sickle cell disease, amongst others.
The centre will undertake interventions through community control programmes and translational research that will benefit the patients in the underserved region of Chandrapur and adjoining areas. (ANI)