Lucknow: Deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak on Thursday called for coordinated efforts by the health and other govt departments and the public to prevent and control communicable diseases.




Launching the special communicable disease control campaign at Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences , Pathak said cleanliness, public awareness and timely detection were critical to curbing disease transmission.




He also participated in an awareness rally and flagged off sanitation and fogging vehicles .




The campaign will run from Oct 1 to Oct 31, while the door-to-door ‘Dastak’ campaign will be conducted from Oct 12 to Oct 31. Health teams will visit households to spread awareness, identify health risks and provide information on disease prevention and early detection.




Pathak urged people to maintain cleanliness in and around their houses and workplaces and prevent water stagnation that serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.




“Healthy practices are our first line of defence against communicable diseases. We must work together to prevent their spread,” Pathak said.




He said state govt had been implementing coordinated, campaign-based interventions to control communicable diseases since 2017.




“As the nodal department, the health department is working in coordination with other departments to strengthen prevention and response measures,” he said.




Referring to Japanese encephalitis in eastern Uttar Pradesh , Pathak said the disease had severely affected children in the past. However, coordinated govt interventions had helped bring it largely under control.




The deputy chief minister appealed to citizens to make cleanliness a daily habit, use safe drinking water, prevent mosquito breeding and seek medical attention promptly.




“An alert citizen, a healthy family and a safe UP are the foundation of effective communicable disease control,” he said.




V Hekali Zhimomi , principal secretary, medical health and family welfare and medical education, and Dr Pawan Kumar Arun, director general, family welfare, along with other senior officials and dignitaries, were present at the event.