leptospirosis and dengue fever etc.

have been major public health

concerns in India and are considered
important because of large human morbidity and mortality from these
diseases. During 1994 India had an
outbreak of plague in man in Surat (Gujarat) and Beed (Maharashtra) after
a lapse of around 3 decades.
Again after 8 years in 2002, an outbreak of pneumonic plague occurred in
Himachal Pradesh followed by
outbreak of bubonic plague in 2004 in Uttaranchal. Japanese encephalitis
has emerged as a major problem
in several states and every year several outbreaks of Japanese
encephalitis are reported from different parts
of the country. Resurgence of Kala-azar in mid seventies in Bihar, West
Bengal and Jharkhand still
continues to be a major public health concern. Efforts are being made to
initiate kala-azar elimination
programme by the year 2010. Rabies continues to be an important killer
in the country. The use of
nervous tissue anti rabies vaccine has been discontinued since December,
2004. The Government has
taken steps to make tissue culture derived vaccine available in public
sector. Dengue fever & Dengue
Haemorrhagic fever is one of the important mosquito borne viral disease
of major international public
health concern. India is endemic for dengue fever and every year cases of
dengue fever and dengue
haemorrhagic fever are reported.
The first edition of the manual published in 2000 has been updated with
the basic aim of providing details
about zoonotic diseases of public health importance including laboratory
techniques for medical and
veterinary laboratories interested in undertaking work on zoonotic
diseases. Each chapter deals briefly with
various aspects of the disease to provide necessary background to the
reader which shall help in better
understanding of the subject. It contains details of techniques and
procedures which have been used by the
National Institute of Communicable Diseases, Delhi and also various other
techniques employed elsewhere.
References for further reading have been appended to make the task of
enthusiastic workers much easier to
try and develop other laboratory methods. In this edition chapters on
anthrax and sterilization and
disinfection procedure are added and chapter on arboviral diseases is
thoroughly revised with detailed
information on Japanese encephalitis, Dengue fever and Kyasanur Forest
Disease.

This manual has been printed with the financial assistance provided by
the World Health Organization. It
is hoped that the manual shall be useful in providing necessary technical
information for control of
zoonotic diseases.
DR. SHIV LAL

ADDL. DG & DIRECTOR

Dated: