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Regional Medical Research Centre
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
(Indian Council of Medical Research)
About RMRC - Institutional Profile
Situated at Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the Regional Medical Research Centre Port Blair, (RMRC, PB) conducts research on communicable and non-communicable diseases prevalent in Andaman and Nicobar Islands with special emphasis on the health problems of the indigenous tribes. Local technical manpower development is another important facet of the Centre’s mandate. Even before stabling the RMRC at Port Blair, the ICMR had presence in the islands in the form of a field unit of the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, which was merged with RMRC, when the Centre was established in 1983.
Thrust Areas
The following are the thrust areas of RMRC, Port Blair
  • Leptospirosis
  • Diarrhoeal diseases, viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, lymphatic filariasis and other vector borne diseases including chikungunya, malaria and other health problems of the indigenous tribes of these Islands
  • Research on chronic non-communicable diseases including diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases as well as on psycho-social issues including alcoholism and post-traumatic stress syndrome triggered by natural calamities such as earthquake and tsunami.
  • Collection and collation of information on traditional medicine/folk lore practices of the aborigines on medicinal plants and sea weeds and their medicinal properties.
International Recognition
RMRC, PB is a designated WHO Collaborating Centre for Diagnosis, Research, Reference and Training in Leptospirosis, with the added mandate to develop Leptospirosis reference laboratories in other countries of the Southeast Asia Region
Major Achievements
  • Establishment of the Leptospiral aetiology of ‘Andaman Haemorrhagic Fever’ (a mysterious febrile illness associated with pulmonary haemorrhages that was occurring as seasonal outbreaks during the 1980s and 90s).
  • Development of indigenous and cost effective rapid tests for the diagnosis of leptospirosis and standardized new techniques for genetic characterization of leptospires.
  • Establishment of a National Leptospira Repository that maintains several hundred reference strains and isolates of leptospires from various parts of the country and abroad.
  • Establishment of the leptospiral aetiology of the outbreak of haemorrhagic fever that occurred in Orissa after the super-cyclone in 1999.
  • Investigation of several outbreaks of leptospirosis in various parts of the country, and assisting in containment, setting up surveillance and developing strategies for prevention and control of the disease.
  • Identification of Hepatitis B as a major health problem among the tribes.
  • Recommendation to include hepatitis B vaccination in the primary immunization schedule for children in the islands was subsequently accepted and implemented.
  • Detection of the first reported outbreak of cholera in Andaman and Nicobar Islands (caused by the seventh pandemic strain of Vibrio cholerae Ogawa biotype El Tor). Identified subsequent outbreaks due to V. cholerae Inaba.
  • Study of the transmission dynamics of diurnally sub periodic Wuchereira bancrofti transmitted by Ochleorotatus niveus in the Nancowry group of islands.
  • Identification of acute flaccid paralysis as a neurological complication of chikungunya virus infection and initiation of the development of DNA vaccine in collaboration with University of Pennsylvania, USA.
  • Active participation in the medical relief operations after the Asian Tsunami of December 2004, including initiation of the establishment of RMRC, PB’s Field Units at Car Nicobar and Nancowry Islands.
  • Recognition by the Pondicherry University to conduct Doctoral programmes in Microbiology and Entomology.
Research and Public Health Impact
Most of the research works being conducted by the Centre are directly linked to public health problems and the research outcomes have had significant impact on the health of the people. Some of the research work and their impact are listed below.
  • FAFLP analysis of leptospires helped in developing species specific markers for the Identification of leptospires
  • Constructed and characterized a genomic library of leptospira, which helped in the search for proteins important in pathogenesis and vaccine development
  • Standardization and application of multi-locus sequence typing of leptospires made available a highly reproducible and reliable scheme for species and strain identification of leptospires
  • Development of rapid tests for leptospirosis resulted in the availability of inexpensive indigenous tools for the diagnosis of leptospirosis
  • Identification of acute flaccid paralysis as a complication of CHIKF has implication in clinical practice
  • Aedes spp. control project in peri-urban area showed the effectiveness of community centered approach for vector control.
  • Study on prevalence and pattern of alcohol consumption in A & N Islands revealed the extent of the problem and emphasized the need for psycho-social interventions
  • Estimation of chronic non-communicable disease risk factor prevalence in A & N Islands helped in developing the baseline database for risk factor surveillance
  • Investigations on novel H1N1 Influenza A outbreaks in A & N Islands helped in H1N1 surveillance
  • Assessing the risk of malaria transmission helped in post-tsunami malaria control strategies
  • Nutritional survey among pre-school children showed a 30% prevalence of under nutrition among them, which was much higher than the prevalence reported by ICDS.
  • Study on estimating the prevalence of genital tuberculosis among the women of Andaman Islands is in progress.
  • As a part of the development of DNA vaccine for leptospiral infection, Leptospiral LipL45 and dnaJ were identified as immunogenic and found to elicit long lasting immunological memories.
  • Assessed the effects of Biofertilizers on the survival of Leptospira by co-culturing Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) with leptospires in laboratory conditions. The observations suggested that Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp. were effective in inhibiting Leptospira in paddy field surface water
  • The phylogenetic analysis of the H1N1 influenza virus isolated from these islands indicate that the circulating virus strain was brought to these remote islands from mainland India or from European and North American countries. No resistance was observed towards Oseltamivir among the strain
  • Studies on HLA class II allele association in chikungunya infection, indicates that HLA-DQB1*03:03 and DQB1 genotypes homozygous for glutamate at 86th position of peptide binding pocket 1 were likely to be associated with reduced severity or in developing symptoms.
  • Extending Diagnostic Facilities under Grade I Virology laboratory for infections with viral etiologies to the entire Union Territory of A & N islands. During the period under report, upsurges of infections with viral etiologies were investigated.
  • Sporadic cases of hand foot mouth disease (HFMD) was observed. 4 cases were confirmed out a 8 suspected cased. Identified the etiology to coxsackievirus a16.
  • Suspected cases of measles were observed in South Andaman. In all a total of 75 samples were tested out of which 19 were positive for IgM ELISA.
  • Suspected cases of mumps were observed among the school going children in South Andaman. Out of 12 suspected 11 were confirmed to be IgM positive.
  • Also five suspected cases of rubella were tested by IgM ELISA and all of them were found to be positive.
  • Besides, samples from suspected cases for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) were collected from North and Middle Andaman. Among the 78 suspected cases one was positive for HPV 16 by PCR analysis.
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