Health Ministry Directive to Monitor Respiratory Illness Trends

• 27 Nov 2023

Recently, the Union Health Ministry has directed State Governments to closely monitor trends in influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), especially in children and adolescents.

Key Points

• Recent Surge in China: The directive follows reports of a surge in respiratory illness among children in northern China, prompting proactive measures.
• Sample Testing: States are instructed to send nasal and throat swab samples of ILI/SARI patients, especially children, to Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories for testing.
• Preparedness Measures: States are advised to review public health and hospital preparedness, ensuring availability of resources, drugs, vaccines, and oxygen.
• Operational Guidelines: Implementation of ‘Operational Guidelines for Revised Surveillance Strategy in the context of COVID-19’ is mandated for integrated surveillance of respiratory pathogens.
• Proactive Review: The Health Ministry is proactively reviewing preparedness measures due to the influenza and winter season, assuring citizens that there's no need for alarm.
• Centralized Reporting: ILI/SARI data from states must be uploaded on a Central portal, enhancing monitoring capabilities.
• Global Context: WHO's information on respiratory illness surge in China is attributed to usual causes, with no current cause for alarm.
• Preventive Measures: The cumulative effect of these measures is expected to counter potential situations and ensure citizens' safety, according to the Ministry.