ICMR to help State in fighting dengue demon

Hyderabad: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has come forward to extend help to the State government in reducing mortality rate in dengue cases.

The council also decided to establish a model unit in Greater Hyderabad to tackle the epidemic. ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava called on Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan at the Raj Bhavan here on Friday.

On the request of the Governor, the ICMR official said that one Nodal officer from Telangana will be appointed to coordinate with the research institute which will also help promote research and vaccine development and treatment, reduction in source of mosquito breed and creation of awareness to public and medical fraternity in the State.

The Governor and Director also discussed the adoption of Sri Lankan model which helped to curtail mortality due to dengue in Hyderabad with the help of ICMR on experiment basis.

Bhargava also informed the Governor the research in the modification of genetics in mosquitoes so that the virus is killed by biological control.