School of Tropical Medicine awaits NMC approval to begin DM Infectious Diseases course

The nod for the course came from the Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, who had initially not been particularly encouraging, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, when a serious deficiency of expertise in this field was felt. CM Mamata Banerjee in July 2020, announced the government's approval and allowed the institute to set up a separate department that would deal with infectious diseases.

The institute later applied to NMC to begin a 3-year post-doctoral programme on Infection Diseases.

According to the TOI report, the institute is hoping to get the nod for at least 4 seats in the SS course.

"We are hopeful of getting the NMC approval. In such a case, we should be able to start running the course from the next academic session," the Assistant Professor Yogiraj Ray, who is one of the few people in the country to have a specialization in Infectious Diseases, told TOI.

It is alarming to note that the shortage of professionals specializing in Infectious Diseases is not just specific to West Bengal. The need for better expertise and knowledge in this field was felt throughout the country during the height of the COVID pandemic.

As of now, there are just 2 institutions in the country running programmes on Infectious Diseases – AIIMS-New Delhi and Christian Medical College, Bangalore. STM is not the only institute that has proposed a course in ID; the need for better equipped professionals in this field was felt throughout the country and various institutions are moving towards introducing such courses.