Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Health Minister K Muraleedharan has said that communicable diseases in the state have not increased compared to previous years, except for Shigella infections, and cited official data to reject concerns over a worsening public health situation.In a statement issued by his office on Wednesday evening, the minister said a review of disease surveillance data over the past 10 years showed that dengue, leptospirosis, hepatitis A and malaria cases reported in 2026 were lower than the peak levels recorded in earlier years.The clarification comes days after the Kerala Assembly witnessed a heated exchange between the ruling UDF and the opposition LDF over the spread of communicable diseases, with the opposition alleging deterioration in the state's public health system and staging a walkout after its adjournment motion was rejected.

According to Muraleedharan, Shigella was the only major communicable disease that recorded its highest incidence in 2026, with 241 cases and seven deaths reported so far.In comparison, the state had reported 65 cases in 2025, 60 in 2024, 48 in 2023 and 53 in 2022.The minister said dengue had recorded its highest annual burden in 2017, when 88,322 cases and 273 deaths were reported.Between January 1 and June 23 this year, Kerala reported 15,882 dengue cases and 35 deaths, compared with 25,752 cases and 68 deaths during the corresponding period in 2024.

Leptospirosis cases also remained below previous highs, with 1,531 cases and 56 deaths reported till June 23 this year against 1,962 cases and 122 deaths during the same period in 2024, which was the worst year in the past decade.For hepatitis A, the statement said 9,436 cases and 36 deaths had been reported so far in 2026, lower than the corresponding figures of 15,583 cases and 45 deaths recorded in 2025.

Malaria cases stood at 383 with three deaths up to June 23 this year, while the highest number of annual malaria cases in the past decade was reported in 2016 and the highest number of deaths in 2023, according to the data released by the minister's office.Muraleedharan maintained that, except for Shigella, the disease trends did not indicate an increase over previous years and said the figures should be viewed in the context of long-term surveillance data rather than in isolation.