KOCHI : Kerala’s dense forest cover and large, particularly migrant, population are key factors that increase the state’s vulnerability to new and emerging diseases, Dr Dinesh Nair, senior health specialist, South Asia Region, World Bank, said while urging the state to be prepared.
“Also, challenges such as the overuse of antibiotics and the development of new strains of viruses or bacteria resistant to these antibiotics contribute to the emergence of new diseases,” he said on Saturday while speaking on ‘Changing paradigm for healthcare in Kerala - the opportunities and challenges’ at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kochi Kendra.
He added that the state needs to plan for, programme for and change attitudes to deal with multiple occurrences of zoonotic diseases.
“The health system needs to adopt the one health approach. The health status is an overall outcome of a number of influences we have on the health system. Diseases can be transmitted from animals to humans. Our forestry has an impact. We need to look not just at the health sector but at a larger perspective, including increasing population, habitations, and humans,” he emphasised in the context of multiple zoonotic diseases spread in the state.