Context The Delhi-based National Centres for Disease Control (NCDC), a Union Health Ministry laboratory and a key lab in India’s genome sequencing network, has asked States to pause sending COVID-19 positive samples to it.
About The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)
It was formerly the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).
NICD was transformed into the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) with a larger mandate of controlling emerging and re-emerging diseases in 2009.
It is a national level institute for training specialized manpower for public health, laboratory sciences and entomological services and is involved in various applied research activities.
Major Functions
Undertakes investigations of disease outbreaks all over the country.
Provides referral diagnostic services to individuals, community, medical colleges, research institutions and state health directorates.
Engaged in generation and dissemination of knowledge in various areas like Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Laboratories etc.
Applied integrated research in various aspects of communicable as well as some aspects of non-communicable diseases has been one of the prime functions of the Institute.
The Institute is under administrative control of the Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.