What Kerala’s Doing Right in the Fight Against Superbugs | Dr Aravind R, Govt Medical College TVM
A ‘silent pandemic’ is already unfolding all over the world – and most people don’t even see it coming.
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), which occurs when microbes evolve to resist life-saving drugs, has claimed over 1.2 million lives in 2019 alone. With that number expected to rise to 10 million annually by 2050, the urgency to act is undeniable.
While the WHO’s Global Action Plan has guided nations, Kerala stands out for taking early, decisive steps, enabled by its strong public health system, robust laboratories, digital antibiograms, and reliable diagnostics, which helped detect and track resistance patterns early on.
In this episode of Health Commune മലയാളം, we speak with Dr. Aravind Reghukumar, HOD of Infectious Diseases at Government Medical College, Trivandrum, and Convenor of the KARSAP Working Committee. Dr. Reghukumar has played a crucial role in Kerala’s AMR response — from launching the state’s dedicated action plan, KARSAP and the ‘Antibiotic Literate Kerala Campaign’ to establishing the world’s first Antibiotic Smart Hospitals, setting a new benchmark in infection control and antimicrobial stewardship.
In this episode, Dr. Aravind discusses:
✅What exactly is AMR, and how does it evolve?
✅The need for research and public awareness
✅The role of animal husbandry and agriculture in raising AMR rates
✅Kerala Antimicrobial Resistance Strategic Action Plan (KARSAP) and its key strategies
✅Kerala’s Smart Antibiotic Hospital Initiative (ASHI)
✅Other initiatives like Operation AMRITH, Antibiotic Literate Kerala Campaign, Kerala Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (KARS-NET), etc.
