Pune : PMC to set up metropolitan surveillance unit by March 2024

A metropolitan surveillance unit (MSU) will be established at Baner by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in order to track possible disease outbreaks and learn more about the types of diseases that occur in urban areas. 

According to officials, the unit will serve as the center for disease surveillance in the city and enable real-time reporting of data on diseases that are prone to outbreaks from both the public and private sectors.

Speaking to Pune Pulse, Dr Suryakant Deokar, Assistant Health & Immunization Officer, PMC said, “The metropolitan surveillance unit (MSU) will be erected on a PMC-owned land in Baner which is 5,000 sq ft. The MSU has been authorized by the central government. They had chosen 4 cities of Maharashtra to erect MSUs, among which Pune is there. The MSU will be used to conduct surveys about various viruses & ailments. The MSU will be just like the National Institute of Virology (NIV). A major advantage of the MSU will be that we can detect different kinds of viruses which could emerge in the future. It can even be used for veterinary purposes. The entire funding part will be handled by the Central Government.”

As per information, Pune is a participant in the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), a pilot project of the central government. According to civic officials, a central team visited the city on January 19 to finalize the location of the unit, which is anticipated to be operational by March 2024. They also mentioned that apart from Pune, similar MSUs will be built in Mumbai, Thane, and Nagpur in Maharashtra.

According to the officials, the COVID pandemic has brought attention to how vulnerable cities are to various pandemics and how critical it is to strengthen disease surveillance in urban areas and municipal corporations.

Shreyas Vange