Kerala’s Infamous History with deadly diseases

• How the State is in the firing line and still coming out trumps courtesy of dedicated health staff
• The Southern State now has a big job on hand in countering Monkeypox threat

Mahesh Avadhuta
IndiGlobal Media Network

Kerala State is in the firing line when it comes to various dreaded diseases that are shaking the world. The first positive case in India, whichever or whatever be the big disease, is being detected in Kerala in the recent past. Be it the Monkeypox now or Covid-19 on January 30, 2020 or the Nipah disease in 2018, the country’s disease count is opening in this part of the world. People coming from abroad were found to be infected few days after returning to their native places in Kerala, both in case of Monkeypox as well as Covid.

Not that the State is at fault for this infamous history, but the government machinery and Kerala health department are made to pass through a litmus test each time. And on previous two occasions-the Kerala health department has come out in flying colours. Kerala Health department comprising doctors and healthcare workers and other frontline government departments have been successful in containing the Covid-19 spread in first wave and in the case of Nipah disease also.

Infact in the Covid Sero-prevalance survey done by the Union health ministry in 2020, Kerala’s average was way below the national average each time indicating a low number of infections within the community. The State was successful in containing the spread of the disease in the first wave compared to other States in the country. It is a different matter that Delta variant hit the country and several States very hard in the second wave and Kerala was no exception.

The robust health set up in Kerala is staring at a big challenge now with the detection the dreaded monkeypox. Two positive cases reported in India are from Kerala itself.

Speaking to IndiGlobal Media over phone, Tinku Biswal (IAS), Principal Secretary (Health), Kerala, said that the health department is all geared up to face the monkeypox challenge. We have issued SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and guidelines for quick detection and treatment of disease infected. Doctors and medical teams in all districts are on alert and we are pretty hopeful of overcoming this challenge effectively, as was the case with earlier diseases, the senior IAS said.

It may be mentioned here that public health set up in Kerala is regarded as one of the best and robust in the country and no wonder governments from other States in the country send their high- level delegations to Kerala to study the Kerala Health system and its functioning in order to implement the best practices in their States.

Dr N Sunil Nettath, Head and Professor, Dept of Pharmacology, Government Medical College, Palakkad, said that, Kerala stands apart from most of other states because the early disease screening process and surveillance of primary contacts is effective and quick, ensuring containment and no further spread. With respect to Monkeypox challenge, workshops are being held already for doctors and health teams on how to detect the infection much early and SOPs have also been issued, Dr Sunil added.

Sharing his perspective, Dr Kiran Madala, EC Member, All India Federation of Government Doctors Associations, said that Kerala is different to other States in the sense that a majority working population of Indians abroad belongs to this southern State. In the case of the two monkeypox infections, both of them returned to Kerala from abroad and tested positive for the viral zoonotic disease. However, the accuracy and transparency of Kerala in detecting the infections early followed by treatment is much better compared to other States limiting the damage, Dr Kiran felt.