var mapImages = new Array();
function preloading()
{
	for (x=0; x<preloading.arguments.length; x++)
	{
		mapImages[x] = new Image();
		mapImages[x].src = preloading.arguments[x];
	}
}
preloading("/images/banner_nicd.png","/images/index_text_bg.png");
	
var bannerImages = new Array();
var titleText = new Array();
function preloadImages()
{
	for (x=0; x<preloadImages.arguments.length; x++)
	{
		bannerImages[x] = new Image();
		bannerImages[x].src = preloadImages.arguments[x];
	}
}
preloadImages("/images/nicd/nicd.jpg","/images/nicd/diseases.jpg","/images/nicd/outbreak-response.jpg","/images/nicd/research.jpg","/images/nicd/training.jpg","/images/nicd/qa.jpg");

titleText[0] = "The <b>National Institute for Communicable Diseases</b> is a major global player in infectious disease intelligence.<br /><br />The NICD is a resource of knowledge and expertise in regionally relevant communicable diseases to the South African Government, to SADC countries and the African continent. The NICD assists in the planning of policies and programmes and supports appropriate responses to communicable disease problems and issues.";
titleText[1] = "<h2>Communicable Diseases Surveillance</h2>The NICD gathers intelligence on communicable diseases and provides expertise to South Africa and the southern African region regarding communicable disease illness burdens such as respiratory and diarrhoeal diseases, meningitis, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.<br /><br /><a href=\"?page=surveillance&id=78\" title=\"More about the Surveillance service\">Read More....</a>.";
titleText[2] = "<h2>Outbreak Response</h2>The NICD is an expert advisory body providing specialist advice in outbreak situations as well as offering laboratory support when required. NICD specialists liaise with provincial and local health authorities in the management and follow-up of outbreaks and offer expertise to co-ordinate the management of interventions and the monitoring of the effectiveness of such interventions.<br /><br /><a href=\"?page=outbreak_response&amp;id=59\" title=\"More about the Outbreak Response service\">Read More....</a>.";
titleText[3] = "<h2>Research</h2>Research at the NICD is either technology development driven or interventions driven. The aim of research carried out by the NICD is to address questions relating to the detection of micro-organisms as well as the detection of factors governing transmissibility, virulence, ecology, epidemic behaviour and distribution. Interventions and monitoring of the effectiveness of, as well as the biological resistance to, these interventions is also addressed.<br /><br /><a href=\"?page=research&amp;id=60\" title=\"More about the Research service\">Read More....</a>.";
titleText[4] = "<h2>Training</h2>The NICD is a valuable resource available to all universities and technikons, and provides training for medical registrars, intern medical scientists and intern medical technologists in public health-oriented communicable diseases. The training function is both in laboratory science as well as in field epidemiology for which the Field Epidemiology Laboratory Training programme (FELTP) has been developed. The NICD is also home to the Africa Centre for Integrated Laboratory Training (ACILT), offering training courses for HIV and TB testing, among others, to Southern African countries. Opportunities to train in unique settings such as the BSL-4 laboratory can also only be offered by the NICD. <a href=\"?page=training&amp;id=63\" title=\"More about the Training service\">Read more....</a>.";
titleText[5] = "<h2>Quality Assurance</h2>The NICD assumes responsibility for the external quality assurance (EQA) for microbiology/virology for the NHLS.  Regular proficiency panels are distributed to participating laboratories.  QA auditing of microbiology laboratories of the NHLS is carried out from the NICD.  An EQA service will also be offered to outside laboratories, for example in the private sector.  The NICD also operates several EQA programmes for African countries for WHO.<br /><br /><a href=\"?page=quality_assurance&amp;id=62\" title=\"More about the Quality Assurance service\">Read more....</a>.";

var pause = 7000;
var pausetoggle='false';
var p = bannerImages.length;
var j = 0;
