Kerala has initiated a huge drive against the abuse of antibiotics, suspending 450 pharmacy licenses and cancelling five more. The firm action is under the state's Antimicrobial Resistance Strategic Action Plan (KARSAP), which aims to stem the rising menace of drug-resistant infections.
Pharmacy license suspension across the state
Health Minister Veena George, on May 8, 2025, suspended 450 pharmacy licenses and canceled five more in a top-level review. The members present were the Chief Minister's Scientific Advisor, Dr. M.C. Duttan, the Additional Chief Secretary (Health), and higher health officials. The action highlights Kerala's dedication to enforcing the prescription-only sale of antibiotics.
Prescription Enforcement Cuts Antibiotic Use
Minister George stated that rigorous policing of doctors' prescriptions to sell antibiotics resulted in a 20-30% decline in use.
Not only have we succeeded in bringing down the overall use of antibiotics, but we have also ensured that the antibiotics being used are relatively less hazardous.
Veena George, Health Minister
'Antibiotic Smart Hospital' launched
In a first for India, Kerala will have a colour-coded packaging system in place within three months: antibiotics will be prescribed in blue covers so that both pharmacists and patients can monitor consumption. Hospitals that embrace the system will get the "antibiotic smart" tag, raising the transparency and accountability level of antibiotic distribution.
Strengthening AMR surveillance in food
Acknowledging that residues of antibiotics could find their way into the food chain, the government will increase checks on milk, meat, and fish. The new policy seeks to cut back on the use of antibiotics in feeding livestock and poultry, safeguarding public health from the farm to the fork.
Community awareness and participation
The current Kerala campaign has already had health workers visit more than 400,000 homes, educating families about the safe use of antibiotics.
Minister George emphasized the significance of well-informed communities, declaring, “Our goal is to make Kerala antibiotic literate by December this year,” she said.
Scaling up effective models across the state
Hub and spoke antibiograms: Ernakulam district model to be implemented in all districts, with real-time resistance at the local level.
nPROUD initiative: Scientific destruction of expired and unused drugs, which was found to be effective in Kozhikode, will now extend to the whole state.
Since 2018, Kerala has expanded from a single AMR lab to labs in all the districts, handling approximately 10,000 samples monthly from 185 spoke hospitals. Its Kerala Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (KARS-NET) now covers 59 tertiary healthcare centers, making Kerala the sole Indian state with AMR surveillance at primary and secondary levels of healthcare.
The Centre for Science and Environment has lately acclaimed Kerala as a national model for AMR awareness and antibiotics stewardship.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Muhammad Faisal Arshad/MSM)
