New Delhi, August 25
Realising the potential of terrorist attacks, the government has named bioterrorism as a major public health challenge under its brand new legislation on the subject.
The very title of the just-drafted public health bill reflects the urgency to combat new-age infections and threats, including disasters like Tsunami, epidemics like Mad Cow Disease, Avian Influenza and SARS.
Titled Public Health (Prevention, Control and Management of Epidemics, Bioterrorism and Disasters) Bill, the act, after cabinet approval, will finally get to replace the 100-year old Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, providing for better epidemic and disaster management - a critical requirement of the times.
Naturally, it will for the first time address grave public health issues, including Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), which India, like other nations, should have recognised much earlier. Mercifully, it now has a law wherein to recognise the same.
The basis for the bill (a modified
version of the public emergencies bill of 2005), prepared by the health ministry, is simple - the existing act is archaic and since its inception, epidemiological concepts used in the prevention and control of epidemic diseases have changed drastically, with new infections like HIV/AIDS and SARS emerging.
In addition, the threat of bioterrorism and the impact of disasters (natural and man-made) on human health needs to be tackled, considering terrorists are increasingly using biological agents that are difficult to detect as they do not cause illness for several hours or days.
The Act, in its present form, lists 32 epidemic prone diseases and 34 potential bioterrorism agents like the smallpox virus that can be spread from person to person and, anthrax, among others. The importance of the new legislation lies in its enhanced punishment for allowing diseases to spread.
The bill firther gives power to local authorities to direct and prohibit certain activities (through public notice) to prevent the outbreak of epidemic and curb acts of bioterrorism which can disastroulsy impact human health. The measure has been included for immediate response.
Further, the central government will be empowered under the new law to direct states to execute provisions of the act, whenever necessary (this despite the fact that health is a state subject).
Importantly, whereas the existing law provides negligible punishment (Rs 1000 fine and six month imprisonment) for life threatening diseases, the new bill already provides for a fine ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh. Health minister Anbumani Ramadoss, sources say, has asked for the bill to be redrafted to enhance the upper limit of fine to Rs 10 lakh and to list compoudable offences under the act. Ironically, all offences named in the old law are non-compoundable, which means only the court can punish them.
The health ministry is now preparing a separate cetagory of compoundable public health offenes under the new bill, which elaborately defines every public health challenge and, mercifully, does not require the declaring public health emergency before initiation of any action. Under the old and existing law, such emergency has to be first notified.
