COVID-19 has revived academic interest in respiratory disorders: Dr Jitendra Singh

New Delhi: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has said that while COVID pandemic has had diverse implications on different walks of life across the world, as far as the medical fraternity is concerned, one of the conspicuous outcomes is that the pandemic has suddenly revived academic interest in respiratory disorders.

Dr Singh who is also a medical professional and a noted Diabetologist stated that while the medical professionals working in other specialities like Diabetology and Oncology are also showing keenness to update themselves about the latest advances in Pulmonary Medicine, the common masses are also seeking more and more awareness about the subject.

Delivering the Inaugural address at the 5-day All-India Conference “NAPCON”, jointly organized by the “National College of Chest Physicians’ and “Indian Chest Society”, Dr Jitendra Singh said that in the past, Pulmonary Medicine was mainly related to tuberculosis and recalled that when he began his career as a young medico, a misconceived perception in the society was that a Chest Physician was a doctor who was capable of treating only and only tuberculosis. However, with the explosion of knowledge and research studies, modern means of diagnosis with specificity and sensitivity coupled with increasing health awareness in the society, Pulmonary Medicine has emerged as a vital speciality dealing with a large spectrum of disorders including morbidity due to Air Pollution, Occupational Lung Diseases, Sleep Disorders, Obstructive Lung Disease and sophisticated Lung Interventions as well Critical Care which have also gained importance in patients with COVID related complications.

Congratulating the organizers for holding a conference of such magnitude with around 100 international faculties and 19 International Chest Associations, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the timing of the conference is also important because it is taking place at a time when the world has gone through devastation caused by respiratory and lung complications resulting from COVID and the medical fraternity is working day and night to arrive at new conclusions about how to control and prevent the same.

Minister said the conference on Pulmonary medicine being held in India also assumes significance because India, in spite of its 130 crore population, has successfully rolled out the world’s largest vaccination drive against COVID. He said, because of the preempted and decisive approach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has been able to face the COVID challenge more successfully and decisively than several western countries with smaller populations.

Dr Singh expressed satisfaction over the fact that besides COVID and tuberculosis, the scientific programme of the conference lists topics of contemporary concern like pulmonary critical care, pulmonary imaging, air travel-related issues, thoracic and surgical intervention, etc. He said he was particularly pleased to note that there are going to be sessions devoted to environmental pollution and climate change which are the issues about which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been expressing views which are seriously acknowledged across the world.