Dept of Infectious Diseases launched at KMC-Manipal

The Department of Infectious Diseases at Kasturba Medical College and Hospital-Manipal was inaugurated in a formal function held at Shirdi Sai Baba Conference Hall at Manipal.

Dr Zelalem Temesgen, Director of Mayo Clinic, HIV programme, USA, inaugurated the facility.

The steps taken by the MAHE-Manipal, KMC-Manipal and Kasturba Hospital are good initiatives in better patient care and educate medical students through this department, he said.

MAHE-Manipal Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr Poornima Baliga B said, "The beginning of this department will educate medical students. We are also aiming to start many other departments like this which in turn will benefit society.”

MAHE Vice-Chancellor Dr H Vinod Bhat said, “The time when the general practitioner treated everything has gone. Now, all the specialities and specialists are needed for treatment of the disease. This is not just the demand of the medical sciences, and it is also the wishes of people. Though it is a division of internal medicine, this department will help in treating infectious disease in a better way".

Department of Infectious Diseases will have specialist doctors with skill sets to overcome the current challenges and be better prepared for future threats.

The department will offer treatment to individuals with contagious diseases, complicated acute fevers, fever of unknown origin, patients with HIV, tuberculosis and even fever arising after hospitalisation.

During the treatment of cancer, chemotherapy lays the individuals at risk of infections. Department of Infectious Diseases will help in the management of infections in patients receiving chemotherapy and post-transplant patients such as transplants for blood cancer and kidney transplant.