Kerala to Set Up District‑Led Committees for Dengue and Chikungunya Prevention

Kerala will form coordination committees chaired by district collectors to strengthen local prevention of dengue and chikungunya, Health Minister K. Muraleedharan announced after an epidemic review meeting on Monday. The principal secretary (Health) Sharmila Mary Joseph has been asked to take the necessary steps. The committees will be set up at the grassroots level in local bodies, bringing together councillors, panchayat members, residents’ association leaders and health workers. They will pinpoint dengue hotspots and step up mosquito‑control actions. Schools will observe a “Dry Day” on Fridays, workplaces on Saturdays and households on Sundays, clearing any water that could breed mosquitoes. An action plan for the Dry Day will be prepared in consultation with the local self‑government minister. The health department also directed officials to follow the epidemic calendar, upgrade existing fever clinics in affected areas and open new ones where needed. District medical officers and district programme managers will meet soon to review daily grassroots activities. Attendees at the meeting included S. S. Lal, chairman of the health department high‑power committee; V. Meenakshy, director of health services; K. V. Viswanathan, director of medical education; Dr. Aravind R., head of infectious diseases at Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College; and A. Althaf, special officer of the Kerala Centre for Disease Control. ## Context Dry days aim to stop standing water that creates mosquito breeding sites, a key step in curbing dengue and chikungunya spread during the monsoon season.