Lok Sabha Question No. 940 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-03
Subject: Virological and Epidemiological Research
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Shashi Tharoor

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RESEARCH

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 940 TO BE ANSWERED ON 3 RD  DECEMBER 2021

## VIROLOGICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

## 940.  DR. SHASHI THAROOR:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of universities that are currently offering specialty virology and epidemiology courses along with the number of students enrolled in these courses;
- (b) the number of institutes that are dedicated to virological and epidemiological research in India;
- (c) whether the Government has set up any new institutes in these fields during the last five years, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether  the  Government  considers  that  the  number  of  such  courses  and  institutes  are adequate  to  cater  to  the  study  warranted  in  the  emerging  fields  of  virology  and epidemiology, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (e) whether the Government intends to increase the number of courses and the number of institutes in these fields and if so, the details of the proposals under consideration; and
- (f) if not, the reasons thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

(DR. BHARTI PRAVIN PAWAR)

- (a): 09  Universities/Institutes  currently  have  been  offering  virology  and  epidemiology courses as per details given below: -

|   S.N. | Name of Universities/ Institutes                                                            | Students enrolled                |
|--------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
|      1 | Savitribai Phule Pune University                                                            | 313 ( from 15 batches 2005-2020) |
|      2 | Utkal University Bhubaneshwar                                                               | 50 (in last 3 years)             |
|      3 | Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala | 291 (in last 20 years)           |
|      4 | Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)                                                   | 58 (in last 3 years)             |
|      5 | CMC, Vellore, Tamil Nadu                                                                    | 2 (2019-20)                      |
|      6 | Amity University, Uttar Pradesh                                                             | 20 (2019-20)                     |
|      7 | Central University of Tamil Nadu, Tiruvarur                                                 | 15 (2019-20)                     |
|      8 | Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal                                                | 12 (2019-20)                     |

Apart from the above, the Institutes of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) an Autonomous  Body  under  the  Department  of  Health  Research  are  also  conducting  PhD programmes in virology and epidemiology affiliated to the local (state) universities.

(b): The Government has set up 124 Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs) under  the  Department  of  Health  Research's  Scheme  'Setting  up  of  nation-wide  network  of laboratories  for  managing  epidemics  and  natural  calamities'  in  the  Government  Medical Colleges and Central Research Institutes.

In  addition,  14  ICMR  institutes  and  03  Universities  namely  Amity  University,  Uttar Pradesh,  Manipal  Academy  of  Higher  Education,  Manipal  and  S.V.U.  College  of  Sciences, Tirupati are also conducting virological and epidemiological research.

(c): 78  Virus  Research  and  Diagnostic  Laboratories  (VRDLs)  have  been  set  up  in  the Government Medical Colleges and Central Research Institutes during the last five years. Details are given in the Annexure .

d), (e) & (f): 42 new Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs) are proposed to be set up in the Government Medical Colleges and Central Research Institutes across the country during the 15 th Finance Commission period from 2021-22 to 2025-26 under the Department of Health  Research's  Scheme  'Setting  up  of  nation-wide  network  of  laboratories  for  managing epidemics and natural calamities'

Besides,  National  Centre  for  Disease  Control  (NCDC)  had  started  the  India  Epidemic Intelligence  Service  (EIS)  training  Programme  in  2012  to  strengthen  applied  epidemiology training of frontline health workforce of central, state and local municipal health departments. This  is  a  two-year  competency-based  training  with  emphasis  on  field  epidemiology  skill development while providing service in public health programmes.

Till date EIS Officers have responded in more than 150 infectious disease outbreaks in 28  states  and  emergency  situations  including  natural  and  manmade  disasters.  They  have evaluated 50 disease surveillance systems at subnational level, leading to improvement of the systems through actionable recommendations.

*****

## List of Virology Labs during last 5 years

| State/UT       | Level of VRDL   |   S. No. | LIST OF VRDLs                                                                         | Year of Establishment   |
|----------------|-----------------|----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------|
| Andaman        | State Level     |        1 | Regional Medical Research Centre, Port Blair                                          | 2018-19                 |
| Andaman        | Medical Level   |        2 | Andaman &Nicobar Island Institutte of Medical Sciences (ANIIMS), Port Blair           | 2020-21                 |
| Andhra Pradesh | Medical Level   |        3 | Rangaraya Medical College, Kakinada                                                   | 2017-18                 |
| Andhra Pradesh | State Level     |        4 | Guntur Medical College, Guntur                                                        | 2018-19                 |
| Andhra Pradesh | Medical Level   |        5 | Andhra Medical college, Vishakhapatnam                                                | 2019-20                 |
| Assam          | Medical Level   |        6 | Silchar Medical College, Silchar                                                      | 2017-18                 |
| Assam          | Medical Level   |        7 | Fakhruddin Medical College, Barpeta                                                   | 2017-18                 |
| Bihar          | Medical Level   |        8 | Darbhanga Medical College, Darbhanga                                                  | 2017-18                 |
| Bihar          | Medical Level   |        9 | S K Medical College, Muzaffarpur                                                      | 2017-18                 |
| Bihar          | Regional level  |       10 | All India Institute of Medical Science, AIIMS Patna (Bihar)                           | 2019-20                 |
| Bihar          | Medical Level   |       11 | Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna                       | 2019-20                 |
| Bihar          | Medical Level   |       12 | Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College& Hospital, Bhagalpur                                | 2020-21                 |
| Chandigarh     | Medical Level   |       13 | Government Medical College &Hospital, Chandigarh                                      | 2017-18                 |
| Chhattisgarh   | State Level     |       14 | All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Raipur, Chhattisgarh.                  | 2017-18                 |
| Delhi-NCT      | Regional Level  |       15 | All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi- 110029                            | 2019-20                 |
| Delhi-NCT      | Medical Level   |       16 | Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences | 2020-21                 |
| Delhi-NCT      | Medical Level   |       17 | Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi                                              | 2018-19                 |
| Delhi-NCT      | Medical Level   |       18 | University College of Medical Sciences& Guru Teg Hospital, Delhi                      | 2020-21                 |
| Delhi-NCT      | State Level     |       19 | Setting up of a VRDL Maulana Azad Medical Colege, New Delhi                           | 2020-21                 |
| Goa            | Medical Level   |       20 | Goa Medical College , Bambolim                                                        | 2020-21                 |

## ANNEXURE

| Gujarat           | Medical Level   |   21 | Government Medical College, Surat                                   | 2018-19   |
|-------------------|-----------------|------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|
| Gujarat           | Medical Level   |   22 | GMC, Bhavnagar                                                      | 2019-20   |
| Gujarat           | Medical Level   |   23 | PDU GMC, Rajkot                                                     | 2019-20   |
| Gujarat           | Medical Level   |   24 | Government Medical College &SSG Hospital, Vadodara                  | 2018-19   |
| Himachal Pradesh  | Medical Level   |   25 | Dr. Radha Krishna Govt. Medical College, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh | 2020-21   |
| Himachal Pradesh  | Medical Level   |   26 | Lal Bahadur Shashtri Medical College, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh       | 2020-21   |
| Jammu and Kashmir | Medical Level   |   27 | Government Medical College, Srinagar                                | 2016-17   |
| Jharkhand         | Medical Level   |   28 | Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi                      | 2016-17   |
| Jharkhand         | Medical Level   |   29 | MGMMedical College, Jamshedpur                                      | 2016-17   |
| Karnataka         | Medical Level   |   30 | Mysore Medical College &Research Institute, Mysore                  | 2020-21   |
| Karnataka         | Medical Level   |   31 | Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences, Hassan                        | 2016-17   |
| Karnataka         | Medical Level   |   32 | Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubballi                   | 2016-17   |
| Karnataka         | Medical Level   |   33 | Gulbarga Institute Of Medical Sciences, Gulbarga                    | 2016-17   |
| Kerala            | State Level     |   34 | National Institute of Virology, Alappuzha                           | 2018-19   |
| Kerala            | Medical Level   |   35 | Government Medical College, Thrissur                                | 2016-17   |
| Madhya Pradesh    | Medical Level   |   36 | Bundelkhand Medical College, Sagar                                  | 2019-20   |
| Madhya Pradesh    | Medical Level   |   37 | MGMMedical College, Indore                                          | 2016-17   |
| Madhya Pradesh    | Medical Level   |   38 | Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior                                 | 2016-17   |
| Madhya Pradesh    | State Level     |   39 | National Institute for Research in Tribal Health(NIRTH), Jabalpur   | 2018-19   |
| Madhya Pradesh    | Medical Level   |   40 | S.S Medical College, Rewa                                           | 2017-18   |
| Maharashtra       | Medical Level   |   41 | Government Medical College, Miraj, Sangli                           | 2017-18   |
| Maharashtra       | Medical Level   |   42 | Kasturba Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Mumbai                   | 2019-20   |
| Maharashtra       | Medical Level   |   43 | Seth GS Medical College&KEM Hospital , Mumbai                       | 2018-19   |
| Maharashtra       | Medical Level   |   44 | AIIMS, Nagpur                                                       | 2020-21   |
| Maharashtra       | State Level     |   45 | Government Medical college, Nagpur                                  | 2019-20   |
| Maharashtra       | Medical Level   |   46 | Government Medical College, Aurangabad                              | 2019-20   |

|               | Medical Level   |   47 | V. M. Government Meical College, Solapur                                                | 2019-20   |
|---------------|-----------------|------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|
|               | Medical Level   |   48 | Shri Bhausaheb Hire Government Medical College, Dhule                                   | 2019-20   |
|               | Medical Level   |   49 | Government Medical College and Hospital &Superspeciality Hospital, Akola                | 2019-20   |
| Manipur       | State Level     |   50 | Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal                                          | 2016-17   |
| Mizoram       | Medical Level   |   51 | Zoram Medical College                                                                   | 2020-21   |
| Odisha        | Regional level  |   52 | RMRC, Bhubaneswar                                                                       | 2017-18   |
|               | State Level     |   53 | AIIMS, Bhubaneswar                                                                      | 2020-21   |
|               | Medical Level   |   54 | Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College &Hospital, Koraput, Odisha (SLNMCH)                 | 2020-21   |
|               | Medical Level   |   55 | Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciencves and Reserach, Burla, Sambalpur, Odisha | 2020-21   |
| Puducherry    | Medical Level   |   56 | Indira Gandhi Medical College& Research Institute, Puducherry                           | 2016-17   |
| Punjab        | Medical Level   |   57 | Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot, Punjab                                     | 2020-21   |
| Rajasthan     | Medical Level   |   58 | RNT Medical College, Udaipur                                                            | 2016-17   |
| Rajasthan     | Medical Level   |   59 | S.P. Medical College &Associated Group of Hospitals, Bikaner, Rajasthan                 | 2016-17   |
| Rajasthan     | Medical Level   |   60 | Jhalawar Medical College, Jhalawar, Rajasthan                                           | 2016-17   |
| Rajasthan     | Regional level  |   61 | AIIMS, Jodhpur                                                                          | 2017-18   |
| Tamil Nadu    | Medical Level   |   62 | Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College, Salem                                  | 2016-17   |
|               | Medical Level   |   63 | Government Medical College, Thiruvarur                                                  | 2019-20   |
|               | Medical Level   |   64 | Government Medical College, Villupuram                                                  | 2019-20   |
|               | Medical Level   |   65 | Tirunelveli Medical College, Tirunelveli                                                | 2016-17   |
|               | State Level     |   66 | Coimbatore Medical College, Coimbatore                                                  | 2016-17   |
|               | State Level     |   67 | King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu                 | 2016-17   |
|               | Medical Level   |   68 | Madras Medical College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu                                             | 2016-17   |
| Telangana     | State Level     |   69 | Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad                                                    | 2017-18   |
| Uttar Pradesh | State Level     |   70 | Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Banaras                        | 2016-17   |
| Uttar Pradesh | State Level     |   71 | ICMR-Regional Medical Research Center, Gorakhpur                                        | 2020-21   |
| Uttarakhand   | State Level     |   72 | AIIMS, Rishikesh                                                                        | 2019-20   |

|             | Medical Level   |   73 | Doon Government Medical College, Dehradun      | 2019-20   |
|-------------|-----------------|------|------------------------------------------------|-----------|
| West Bengal | Medical Level   |   74 | Midnapore Medical College &Hospital, Midnapore | 2016-17   |
| West Bengal | Medical Level   |   75 | North Bengal Medical College, Darjeeling       | 2016-17   |
| West Bengal | Medical Level   |   76 | Malda Medical College, Malda                   | 2018-19   |
| West Bengal | Medical Level   |   77 | Burdwan Medical College                        | 2020-21   |
| West Bengal | Medical Level   |   78 | RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata                | 2018-19   |