Kerala to introduce SOPs under One Health initiative

April 18, 2024

The Kerala Health Department is set to introduce detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the outbreak investigation and control of at least eight infectious diseases as part of its One Health initiative. This marks the first time that such comprehensive guidelines are being developed at the state level on the One Health platform in India. The SOPs aim to establish an early disease surveillance, prevention, and control mechanism in districts.

Diseases Covered in One Health initiative

The SOPs cover several diseases and disease conditions, including:

Water-borne diseases like acute diarrhoeal diseases, Hepatitis A and E
Food-borne infections
Mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and Zika
Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (Japanese encephalitis and West Nile fever)
Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD)
Nipah virus infection
Leptospirosis
Avian influenza

These guidelines were developed during a two-day joint outbreak investigation planning workshop organized by the Centre for One Health, Kerala.

Implementation of One Health Project

The One Health project is currently being implemented as part of the World Bank-aided Rebuild Kerala project in four districts of the state: Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, and Idukki. The project aims to establish a community-based disease surveillance network where trained One Health volunteers can report unusual events or deaths of animals/birds in their locality. This enables early warning and timely preventive or control measures. As part of the project, 2.5 lakh volunteers (56 in every ward) have already been trained in these four districts.

Integration of One Health Project with Aardram Mission

One Health has been included as a major component of the second phase of Kerala’s Aardram Mission, recognizing that human health is inextricably linked to animal and environmental health. The mission emphasizes the need for coordinated efforts from various departments, including Health, Animal Husbandry, Forest, Food Safety, Agriculture, and Fisheries, to control the increasing incidence of zoonotic disease outbreaks.

Additional Facts

The One Health approach recognizes that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment. It involves the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment.
Kerala has faced several zoonotic disease outbreaks in recent years, including Nipah virus infections in 2018 and 2019, and avian influenza (H5N8) in 2021.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been promoting the One Health approach as a key strategy for preventing and managing zoonotic diseases, which account for over 60% of all infectious diseases in humans.
India launched its National One Health Framework in 2021 to foster collaboration and coordination among various sectors for the prevention, detection, and response to public health threats.

By adopting a collaborative, multi-sectoral approach, Kerala aims to enhance early disease detection, prevention, and control, ultimately safeguarding public health.

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