Kerala reported 3,259 leptospirosis cases, 209 deaths this year: Nadda

New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) Kerala reported 3,259 confirmed leptospirosis cases and 209 deaths from January 1 till December 5, Union Health Minister J P Nadda told the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Thiruvananthapuram recorded 583 cases, the highest among the 14 districts in Kerala, followed by Ernakulam at 492 and Thrissur at 340, Nadda said in response to a query.

As public health is a state subject, the primary responsibility of surveillance, reporting and response to the disease lies with the state government, he added.

“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, an illness caused by the bacteria Leptospira, is endemic in Kerala and has been associated with the monsoon.

The health ministry, through the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), is implementing the Programme for Prevention and Control of Leptospirosis (PPCL) across 12 endemic states and two Union territories – 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 aims to reduce morbidity and mortality due to leptospirosis through strengthened surveillance and diagnostics, early detection and treatment, improved patient care, capacity building, and enhanced inter-sectoral coordination, Nadda said.

Initiatives under the programme include training of state and district healthcare professionals, sensitisation of private practitioners through continuous medical education programmes, annual hands-on laboratory training, strengthening of the state public health laboratory, and establishment of 75 sentinel surveillance sites nationwide, including five in Kerala, under the National One Health Programme for Prevention and Control of Zoonosis, the minister said.

Information, Education, Communication (IEC) material, e-learning modules, operational guidelines, standardised real-time reporting formats aligned with IDSP-IHIP, seasonal advisories, and media-based event surveillance are also in place, Nadda said.

Under the National Health Mission, the health ministry provides technical and financial support to the states and UTs for strengthening their healthcare systems based on the proposals submitted by them in their programme implementation plans, subject to norms and availability of resources, the health minister said. PTI PLB ARI