New Delhi: Union Health Minister JP Nadda informed the Lok Sabha on Friday that Kerala has reported 3,259 confirmed cases of leptospirosis and 209 related deaths between January 1 and December 5 this year. According to Nadda, Thiruvananthapuram registered the highest number of cases among the 14 districts with 583 infections, followed by Ernakulam with 492 and Thrissur with 340.

He noted that since public health falls under the state government’s jurisdiction, surveillance, reporting, and disease response primarily remain the state’s responsibility.

“As reported by the state government of Kerala, 3,259 confirmed leptospirosis cases and 209 deaths have been recorded from January 1, 2025, till December 5, 2025,” Nadda said.

Leptospirosis also known as rat fever and a bacterial infection caused by Leptospira, is considered endemic in Kerala and is often linked to the monsoon season.

Nadda highlighted that the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is carrying out the Programme for Prevention and Control of Leptospirosis (PPCL) across 12 endemic states and two Union territories—including Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Punjab, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and the UTs of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

The programme focuses on reducing the disease burden through enhanced surveillance, accurate diagnostics, early detection and treatment, improved clinical care, capacity building, and stronger inter-sectoral coordination.

As part of the initiative, state and district healthcare workers receive specialised training, private doctors are sensitised through continued medical education programmes, and annual hands-on laboratory sessions are conducted. The state public health laboratory has been strengthened, and 75 sentinel surveillance sites—including five in Kerala—have been set up under the National One Health Programme for Prevention and Control of Zoonosis, he said.

Nadda added that Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials, e-learning modules, operational guidelines, real-time reporting formats aligned with IDSP-IHIP, seasonal advisories, and media-based event monitoring are also part of the programme.

He further stated that under the National Health Mission, the Centre extends financial and technical assistance to states and UTs to strengthen their healthcare systems, based on proposals submitted in their programme implementation plans and subject to established norms and resource availability.