One Health-based disease surveillance set to cover all districts of Kerala

The Health department is extending One Health initiative to all districts by training and engaging local-level volunteers for community-based disease surveillance system.

The department has released detailed guidelines for Community-Based Surveillance (CBS) as part of the One Health initiative, Health Minister, Veena George, said here on Monday (October 3).

The community-based disease surveillance system, which will be implemented at the local self-government level, will be the responsibility of respective local bodies.

The official documents, pertaining to the decision taken by the governing councils of 251 out of the 266 local bodies in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Idukki and Kottayam districts to implement the surveillance system, has been handed over to the Health department. One Health, which is currently being implemented in these districts, will be extended to other districts.

The One Health initiative aims to address issues that affect humans, animals, plants, and their shared environment, recognising that these systems are deeply interconnected. Community-based disease surveillance is a key component of the programme which enables early detection of infectious diseases through active local-level monitoring of disease trends by trained community volunteers. This helps prevent the spread of diseases early and thus minimise adverse impacts through local participation.

CBS is designed as a community-driven surveillance network involving trained volunteers under the leadership of local self-government institutions, district administrations, and the Health Department. The success and effectiveness of the system is totally dependent on the widespread participation of the community in this initiative

The Health department will train volunteers to continuously monitor and report any unusual events that could affect the health of humans, animals, or the environment, thereby enabling authorities to take timely preventive action and strengthen disease control activities.

The Health department has selected, trained and deployed seven community mentors and 49 community volunteers from each ward/divisions in the four districts. As the programme expands to other districts, each ward or division will have 10 to 15 community volunteers.

Training sessions will be organised using a standardised toolkit containing operational guidelines, and all local self-government bodies are required to adhere strictly to these instructions, Ms. George said.