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US Doctor Urges India to Train Physicians in Infectious Disease

1 week ago

Indian-American physician Dr Navin Shah says India needs 15,000 infectious disease specialists as it battles swine flu, but has none.

As India grapples with a swine flu outbreak, a prominent Indian-American physician has called on New Delhi to speed up training doctors specifically in infectious diseases, warning that delay could put the outbreak beyond control.

Dr Navin Shah, a co-founder and former president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), made the appeal in an interview with PTI in Washington. Shah, who is originally from Pune and now practices as a urologist in Maryland, said he has spent three years lobbying officials in New Delhi on the issue without success.

Shah said India has more than 50 million patients with infectious diseases but no dedicated infectious disease specialists to treat them. He contrasted this with the United States, where roughly 6,000 infectious disease specialists work despite deaths from such diseases being minimal there.

He estimated that a country with India's population of over a billion people needs at least 15,000 infectious disease specialists to manage the burden.

Shah described India as "sitting on a time bomb of infectious disease," and said he finds it discouraging that the government and health officials, though aware of the shortage, have not moved to address it.

He said he has also offered to arrange free training in the United States for at least one Indian doctor in infectious disease medicine, but has found no officials in New Delhi willing to take up the offer.

swine flu India, infectious diseases India, Navin Shah AAPI, Indian doctors training, infectious disease specialists, India health policy, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin

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