83 antibiotic smart hospitals, 5 antibiotic literate panchayats in Kerala: Minister Veena George

The institutions were declared antibiotic smart, only after verifying whether they had met the prescribed criteria through evaluations at the institutional, block, district and state levels, Veena said.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Health Department has declared 83 hospitals as “antibiotic smart hospitals” and five panchayats as “antibiotic literate panchayats” after they fulfilled the prescribed standards aimed at strengthening antibiotic resistance prevention measures, Health Minister Veena George said on Saturday.

In a statement, the minister said that of the 83 hospitals, 73 are primary-level institutions, 4 are secondary-level hospitals, and 1 is a tertiary-level hospital.

The institutions were declared antibiotic smart, only after verifying whether they had met the prescribed criteria through evaluations at the institutional, block, district and state levels, she said.

As part of strengthening antibiotic resistance prevention in the state, the concepts of “antibiotic smart hospitals” and “antibiotic literate local self-government institutions” were introduced for the first time in the world under the Kerala Anti-Microbial Resistance Strategic Action Plan, the statement said.

The state government had also issued a comprehensive operational guideline to implement the initiative, based on which hospitals and local bodies were assessed and declared antibiotic smart, it said.

In 2024, Family Health Centres at Kakodi and Ozhalapathy were declared antibiotic smart institutions.

George said the concept of antibiotic-literate panchayats was introduced under the “One Health” approach, which recognises the interconnection between human, animal and environmental health.

As part of the Antibiotic-Literate Kerala project, specific criteria were set for local bodies to achieve this status, she said.

Kakodi panchayat in Kozhikode district and Panavally, Thakazhi, Veeyapuram, and Chettikulangara panchayats in Alappuzha district have achieved the status of antibiotic-literate panchayats, the minister said.

Ernakulam General Hospital has become the first tertiary-level antibiotic smart hospital in the state.

Fort Kochi Taluk Hospital, Chengannur District Hospital, Alappuzha District Hospital, and Alappuzha Women and Children’s Hospital have become the first secondary-level antibiotic-smart hospitals in Kerala.

The minister said the state aims to transform all hospitals and local self-government institutions into antibiotic-smart institutions within a set timeframe as part of efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance.