Centre for Medical Entomology and Vector Management

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Mailing address

Centre for Medical Entomology and Vector Management,

National Centre for Disease Control, 22- Sham Nath Marg, Delhi – 110054.

Tele Fax. No. 01123987704

Name, Designation and contact details of Head of the Centre

Dr. S.K. Jain (PH)

Additional Director & HOD

Tel. No. (O) 011 23987704

E -mail – idsp-ent@nic.in

Other officers of the Centre

Sr.No.	Name of the Officer	Designation
1	Dr. T.G. Thomas	Joint Director
2.	Dr. Roop Kumari	Joint Director (on Deputation at WHO w.e.f. 5.10.2016 for 2 years)
3.	Dr. Rina Kumawat	Assistant Director
4	Dr. Sweta Bhan	Dy. Asstt. Director
5	Dr. Pankaj U. Ramtake	Dy. Asstt. Director
6.	Ms. Lalthazuali	Dy. Asstt. Director
7.	Dr. Amarpal Singh Bhadauriya	Dy. Asstt. Director

Broad Activities of the Centre

Undertakes entomological investigations of outbreaks of vector-borne diseases in the country and recommends appropriate vector control measures
Undertake assessment for potential of vector borne diseases and their control in areas affected due to natural calamities like earthquake, flood, tsunami and cyclone.
Undertakes laboratory and field evaluation of various formulations of insecticides against vectors and pests of public health importance
Undertakes insecticide susceptibility tests of natural population of vectors in the country and study cross resistance, if any
Maintains a reference collection museum of preserved specimens of arthropods of medical importance to facilitate identification of the collected material
Maintains live cultures of arthropods of medical importance for teaching, supply and research purposes for scientific workers within and outside the institute
Conducts various ad-hoc and regular training courses on vector-borne diseases and their control
Carries out Dengue and JE virus antigen detection in mosquito vectors
Taxonomy, ecology and biology of arthropods of medical importance.
Identification and supply of live and preserved specimens of arthropods of medical importance to various health institutions in the country for teaching and research purposes.
Support to the National Health Programme: Support to NVBDCP for

In monitoring and evaluation of VBD programme implementation in different states
Support in monitoring and evaluation of indoor insecticidal spray under taken for the control Kala azar in Bihar and Jharkhand.

Support to Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP): Provide support in Entomological surveillance and control of VBD through coordination and monitoring of IDSP entomologist posted at HQrs and different states.

Units within the Centre

S.No.	Units
1.	Insecticide Laboratory
2.	Virus Antigen Detection Laboratory
3.	Entomological Museum
4.	Insectary
5.	Insecticide Testing Laboratory

Name of the Branch under the supervision of the Centre

:National Central for Disease Control, Patna Branch, Patna (Bihar)

Routine Activities:

Unit 1: Insecticide Testing Laboratory: Broad Activities

Laboratory and field evaluation of insecticide samples received from various National and International agencies
Evaluation of newer formulations of insecticides
Monitoring of susceptibility status of vector species of arthropods of medical importance

Detection of antigens from mosquitoes

JE virus antigen detection
Dengue virus antigen detection
Zika virus antigen detection

Unit 3: National Reference Entomological Museum: Broad Activities

Demonstration of arthropods of medical importance to the trainees of various short term and long term training courses undertaken at NCDC, Delhi

Unit 6: Insectary: Broad Activities

Maintenance of stock cultures of arthropods of medical importance and mosquito larvivorous fishes for different research activities.

Unit 5: A brief on NICD Cooler

Dengue and Chikungunya have become important outbreak prone vector borne diseases in the country. Outbreaks results in loss of working man- hours, long period disability in patients after initial recovery from diseases like Chikungunya, mortality in patients suffering from dengue hemorrhagic fever, which directly affect the economy of the society. The mosquitoes transmitting these viral diseases are found breeding in domestic/peri-domestic containers including desert coolers.

The conventional desert coolers are being used in many parts of the country as a cooling device in houses, offices and industrial establishments during the summer months. The conventional desert coolers hold water for long period and they have become the potential breeding grounds for dangerous mosquitoes in absence of adequate control efforts. The study carried out in Delhi area revealed that more than 50% of the breeding places of dengue vectors are contributed by these conventional coolers because of the following reasons: 1. The water tank of the conventional coolers is open type, which attracts mosquitoes for egg laying which results in prolific breeding of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and transmit Dengue/Chikungunya viruses. 2. Weekly larviciding or cleaning is required to prevent breeding of mosquitoes inside the cooler, which is often not practiced. 3. Standing water in the cooler, when not in use, particularly during monsoon season, has high potential for the breeding of dengue vector mosquito and thus increases the risk of disease transmission.

In order to overcome the above problems, a mosquito proof desert cooler (NICD Cooler) has been designed in 2009 (The photograph of the same is at Fig. 1). The NICD cooler has the following advantages over the conventional desert coolers: 1. Water tank of the NICD cooler is completely covered to prevent the entry of mosquitoes in to the water tank for egg laying. There is thus no risk of disease transmission due to coolers. 2. No weekly cleaning of the water tank is required. 3. No chemical larvicide is required to kill mosquito larvae. 4. It can be conveniently installed in high rise buildings. 5. Even standing water in the cooler, when not in use, has no risk of mosquito breeding.

The NICD cooler is a patented item and registered with National Research Development Corporation (A DSIR enterprise, Ministry of Science and Technology) and is being manufactured and marketed by the 13 agencies.