Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 23 — The Kerala government, led by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, has introduced a calendar-based approach to prevent communicable diseases, with health workers, including health inspectors, set to visit households across the state to spread awareness and promote preventive measures.
Health Minister K. Muraleedharan on Friday released the calendar at the Secretariat here, marking the first time the Health Department has prepared such a document to help prevent disease outbreaks and deaths.
The minister said the previous government led by Pinarayi Vijayan had issued an order restricting household visits by health workers to areas where disease outbreaks had been reported.
The order would be revised to enable wider preventive outreach, he added.
The initiative aims to move disease prevention beyond emergency responses after outbreaks occur.
It seeks to prepare people in advance by providing information on diseases that are likely to be relevant during different months of the year.
Experts from the high power committee constituted by the Health Department to strengthen communicable disease prevention prepared the calendar.
It contains month-wise information on diseases relevant to Kerala, their symptoms, modes of transmission and the preventive measures individuals and communities should adopt.
Muraleedharan said effective prevention and treatment required coordinated action by the Health Department, other government departments and the public.
The calendar was part of the department's efforts to lead such a coordinated response.
The department will make the calendar available to people across the state and publish it on its official website.
The initiative comes against the recognition that although scientific knowledge helps identify patterns in the spread of different diseases, such information does not always reach the public.
This gap can weaken community preparedness and undermine preventive efforts.
The department has a major responsibility to prevent the spread of diseases and avoid deaths, the minister said.
The high-power committee's chairman, S.S. Lal, said the calendar was intended to improve public awareness, strengthen disease prevention and encourage people to seek medical attention promptly when symptoms appeared.
He said the document was based on currently available information and would be updated as new scientific evidence emerged.
The household visits are expected to help health workers communicate preventive advice directly to residents, while the calendar will provide a common reference for public awareness activities throughout the year.