Kerala launches ‘Clean Water Drive’ amid 18 active amoebic brain infection cases
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Thiruvananthapuram: With 41 cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis reported this year and 18 active cases currently under treatment, Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Monday urged residents to ensure that all water sources are kept clean and safe.
Minister George also announced a mass public campaign to curb the spread of the rare but fatal brain infection. Scheduled for August 30 and 31, the campaign will involve chlorination of wells and cleaning of water storage tanks across households, hospitals, educational institutions, hostels, and apartments.
The initiative was decided at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Local self-government bodies, the Haritha Keralam Mission, and the Water Resources Department will jointly lead the drive, with active participation from all health workers and institutions.
Most cases have been reported from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kozhikode, Wayanad, and Malappuram districts. Minister George directed that adequate medicines be stocked and instructed resorts, hotels, water theme parks, and swimming training centres to ensure proper chlorination and regular testing of water. Facilities failing to comply will face action under public health laws.
The Health Department also stressed the need to maintain public water bodies. Local bodies have been tasked with cleaning ponds, lakes, and canals, and blocking waste channels leading into them. Accumulated weeds and waste must be removed to ensure water safety.
Residents entering natural water bodies have been advised to take doxycycline tablets as a preventive measure against leptospirosis, under medical guidance. Health authorities issued precautionary measures, advising people to avoid swimming or diving in stagnant or untreated water sources. If entering water is unavoidable, nose plugs or covering the nose with fingers is recommended to prevent contaminated water from entering. Disturbing mud or sediments in ponds and lakes should be strictly avoided, and swimmers should keep their heads above water.
Public swimming pools, spas, and theme parks must be properly chlorinated and maintained, while households have been warned against pouring unboiled or untreated water into the nose. Water storage tanks and reservoirs should be thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed at least once every three months.
The Health Department emphasised that community-level vigilance and strict water hygiene practices are essential to preventing further cases of the disease.
With IANS inputs
