The Health Department is on a heightened state of alert against the outbreak of infectious diseases, including Nipah, Health Minister K. K. Shylaja, informed the House on Monday.
Replying to questions on the Health Department’s activities in the area of disease prevention and control, Ms. Shylaja said that disease surveillance had been strengthened and that year-long prevention and control programme, Arogya Jagratha, was being implemented in full measure.
Learning from the lessons of the first Nipah outbreak last year and with the clear understanding that one cannot rule out similar outbreaks, all hospitals had been put on alert. Mock drills would be conducted in all hospitals including those in private sector and surveillance samples sent for testing.
Regular checks
Under Healthy Kerala campaign, regular checks were being done on all eateries, restaurants and bakeries in the State to ensure that hygiene and food safety standards are being maintained.The State was on the way to eliminating filariasis, leprosy, tuberculosis and malaria by 2020 through comprehensive action plans.House-to-house survey is being conducted to detect new TB cases.
