Dr. Datta started his medical career in 1965 as Epidemiology Field Instructor at All India Institute of Hygiene & Public Health (AIIH & PH), Calcutta. During the last 40 years, he has worked with Govt. of India, Sultanate of Oman, WHO, many prestigious academic and research institutions in various leadership positions. He has traveled extensively in India, covering a wide range of disease control activities. His major contributions have been in the field of capacity building in epidemiology, disease surveillance, outbreak investigations and disease prevention and control including control of emerging health problems.
He retired as Director of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), Delhi, where he was in charge of maintaining watch over emerging, newer health problems and advising the Government accordingly.
During his tenure at NICD, he co-coordinated all activities pertaining to prevention and control of communicable diseases like cholera, measles, anthrax, Japanese encephalitis, meningitis, viral hepatitis, kala-azar and other vector borne diseases etc. He led the development of an early warning system for epidemic prone communicable diseases in the country. At NICD, he also spearheaded the evaluation of the Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI), measles vaccine efficacy, and polio vaccine efficacy under field conditions.
He worked at the office of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), as chief of the National Tuberculosis & Diarrheal Disease Control Programme, where he was responsible for preparation of the concept paper for Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), preparation for the project and negotiation for World Bank loan for the project, and implementation of Directly Observed Treatment (DOTs) Pilot study. Between 1986-88, he co-coordinated all activities pertaining to development of HIV/AIDS surveillance activities National AIDS Control Programme. As a consultant epidemiologist with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), he has developed course curriculum for epidemiology for middle level health officials in research institutes, academic institutions and district and assisted in conduction of training programmes.
His active association with WHO activities since 1975 covers all areas of disease prevention and control. He is a member of the Global Technical Advisory Group on lymphatic filariasis. In recent years, he has assisted South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO of WHO) in developing Regional Strategic Plan for Integrated Disease Surveillance and developing disease surveillance strategy in the North Eastern Province of Sri Lanka.
He has more than 90 publications in national and international journals, and holds fellowships at various professional organizations.
