The Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV), has scheduled to introduce an innovative Mobile Viral Outbreak Investigation Unit (MVOIU).
This initiative is intended to improve disease surveillance and response capacities and it is anticipated to transform the way viral outbreaks are observed and supervised in Kerala. This is the first initiative in the state and the IAV foresees that this initiative could eliminate the time lag.
Usually, the collection of samples and transferring them to a central laboratory could require valuable time which leads to delayed diagnosis and limits the efforts. The main goal of the MVOIU is to accomplish prompt and well-organized sample collection, examination, and reporting to recognize probable viral threats and make farsighted efforts to contain them.
The MVOIU is planned for sample collection from medical colleges and primary healthcare centers and according to the necessity of the health department, it will also furnish its service anywhere in the state. A light motor vehicle with an 18-seat capacity is being transformed into MVOIU.
The director of IAV said that early detection is the key to containing outbreaks. The MVOIU will allow them to act swiftly and decisively, deterring the spread of disease before it becomes a main public health crisis. He also said that they usually get samples for testing from medical colleges. It happens when a patient arrives there. But, with such a unit in place, they could swiftly reach that location where a disease outbreak is being suspected.
The collected samples will be sent for testing to the molecular diagnostic lab facility at the IAV, which could test about 88 types of viruses, including Nipah. He also said that they will introduce the testing facility at the MVOIU.
Dr. Aravind R, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the government medical college in Thiruvananthapuram said that by fetching their expertise and resources directly to the field, they could reinforce disease surveillance networks and provide timely interventions to safeguard public health. As per the director, this initiative will assist in the surveillance of influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections.
Dr. Aravind expressed that this initiative will contribute to a more proactive approach to managing infectious diseases and said that more sampling and more access to sampling will give more insights and thus, lessening the possibility of extensive transmission and related public health impacts.
An official of the health department said that the MVOIU might get linked up with the Center for One Health Kerala (COH-K). The COH-K is accountable for the management of the One Health Programme in Kerala.
The official said that their state lies in closeness to the Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot and it is home to a large family of flora and fauna that may shelter a collection of unidentified pathogens. He also said that Kerala also has vibrant tourism which embodies a global diaspora. Characteristics like high population density, a large number of nonresident citizens, and the existence of human residences in the periphery area and inside the forests made the state vulnerable to disease outbreaks, particularly zoonotic diseases.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Lavanya Beeraboina/MSM)
