‘Too Much Of Anything Is Bad,’ With This Thought In Mind These Doctors In Kerala Are Debunking Myths About Health And Diseases On Social Media | Coronavirus Outbreak – Swachh India NDTV

‘Too Much Of Anything Is Bad,’ With This Thought In Mind These Doctors In Kerala Are Debunking Myths About Health

New Delhi: “When people got familiar with the current COVID-19 scenarios, what are the types of messages that flooded our social media or WhatsApp? Some shared natural remedies like eating garlic as a cure to the disease while some shared how drinking alcohol or spraying it on our body can kill the virus. Not just these, there were hundreds of remedies floating on social media. Isn’t it,” asked Jithin T Joseph, co-founder of a unique platform called Info Clinic, a Facebook page that has been set to counter false information, myths, and superstitions with regards to health, diseases, and its treatment. The initiative is spearheaded by a team of doctors from various fields in Kerala who want to put a stop at all such fake news or myths related to health and diseases and guide the common masses with true information.

Also Read: Kerala Becomes A ‘Model State’ In The Fight Against Coronavirus: State Health Minister KK Shailaja Explains How

Doctors In Kerala Are Debunking Myths About Health And Diseases On Social Media
The initiative started with a team of five doctors spearheading Info Clinic and now the team has more than 38 doctors all working to debunk the common health and disease myths taking rounds on social media

What Led To The Birth Of Info Clinic Initiative In Kerala

Talking about the idea and what prompted the birth of Info Clinic in Kerala back in 2016, Jithin T Joseph adds,

At that point in time, the state was going through diphtheria outbreak and on the other hand, social media was growing so much that it had become a daily source of gaining news for the masses. We saw there was a lot of misinformation about the outbreak and its remedies that were circulating. A state like Kerala, which has the highest literacy rate was also at the receiving end of the harms that are caused due to fake news or misleading information. Percentage of vaccinations for diphtheria came down, which was supposed to be a legit cure. At that point, we were very disappointed as we saw people believing the remedies circulating on social media as a cure and not taking vaccinations. We decided to write an article about the disease and its treatment and that’s how the idea of starting Info Clinic was mooted. Soon, we decided to make Info Clinic a platform where we can publish all such articles and educate the masses about the right things when it comes to health issues, diseases and its treatment.

It all started with a team of five doctors spearheading Info Clinic, a Facebook page, four years down the line, it has now become a team of 38 specialist doctors, from both public and private hospitals, who works only on spreading right knowledge and information about major disease outbreaks or pandemics like the one which the world is undergoing currently – coronavirus.

Jithin T Joseph said,

What binds us all together is our mutual interest about health issues and diseases, we have more than 1 lakh people who follow us on our social media, moreover, we have a dedicated website where we publish all our findings, research and knowledge. For now, the initiative is limited to the state of Kerala, but we do try and convert important articles in English so that more and more people can get aware. Till now, we have written more than 350 plus articles in Malayalam and English language.

Debunking Myths In The Time Of Coronavirus

Further talking about the current pandemic – coronavirus and how big the problem of myths, conspiracy theories, fake news around it was in Kerala, which is known as one of the better performers in dealing with the crisis, Mr Joseph said that in Kerala as well the problem of miss information was huge. Highlighting what went right with Kerala when it comes to coronavirus, he said,

“But what the state did differently was that it started to put out all the information related to the pandemic out there on social media – be it government accounts or health minister. Everyone in the state was trying to make people aware of the situation by simply putting out facts. That really helped the state cope up well with the pandemic.

Highlighting the kinds of miss information Info Clinic has dealt in the past when it comes to coronavirus outbreak, Mr Joseph said,

The list is never-ending. I remember people posting queries about things like if coronavirus can go away by putting a sanitiser with alcohol content in it then can drinking alcohol make them COVID-19 resistant or if they take a hot water bath, they will be protected from the virus. There were myths about yoga and coronavirus, people thought those who perform yoga are less likely to get infected with the virus. There were also questions on the use of spraying disinfectants on one’s body or surfaces, but in medical terms, it was not an effective cure for COVID-19.

In Kerala, disinfectant booths were installed and there were cases in recent past that some of the vehicles have caught fire after the disinfectant was sprayed on them because of the alcohol content. Sharing an example of this incident, Mr Joseph added,

There was a lot of discussion around it and we wrote an article on the same topic, it gained a lot of eyes and after that even the World Health Organisation passed the guideline saying that the use of disinfectant is not the solution.

Stressing on the point that controlling information that is misleading or fake on social media is very tough, Mr Joseph said,

Social Media is a platform where anyone can share anything. Now, today, if I get a WhatsApp forward saying eating garlic can cure COVID-19 and if I decide to post it further – I will be misleading 500 people who follow me on a certain platform. Now, even if one of them passes it on to their group, it will affect more people and the count soon will be endless. That’s how difficult it is to control misinformation being passed on various platforms. Most of the questions and miss information about coronavirus which we had to deal with in recent times were related to its cure. As it is a new deadly virus and everybody is looking for the information that can protect them, so most of the people end up believing the random miss information that is passed and that’s where Info Clinic comes in picture. Daily, we try and come up with some or the other article that tries to debunk such myths.

Also Read: Kerala Fights COVID-19: ‘Triple Lockdown’ In Thiruvananthapuram, Here’s All You Need To Know

Doctors In Kerala Are Debunking Myths About Health And Diseases On Social Media
Info Clinic was kick-started in 2016 as a Facebook Page, now the initiative also has a dedicated website where they post articles on health, diseases and its treatment

Highlighting about the learnings and challenges of an initiative like an Info Clinic, Mr Joseph signed off by saying,

Over the years, we have realised, miss information that is passed on social media is the biggest threat to the society in terms of the health care system. When we started back in 2016, we never thought we will grow like this and help so many people pass on the right knowledge. Whereas, when we talk about the challenges, one of the biggest threats is the reach of social media, the way information spreads via this medium is uncontrollable. Currently, anyone and everyone is sharing something or the other related to the diseases, so the fake news that we call in the health and disease sector is spreading like a wildfire. Wish there can be a way in the future to control this. Until then, we all need to be very very careful that we don’t pass on things which we are not sure of until it is backed with voices of experts and doctors. We need to stop learning things from what we now call as WhatsApp University. Let’s all be responsible and share the information wisely.

Also Read: Meet Kerala’s Coronavirus Warriors Who Are Tracking Thousands In Quarantine Everyday

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (WaterSanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollutionwaste managementplastic banmanual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene

World

1,20,37,599Cases

49,05,972Active

65,82,226Recovered

5,49,401Deaths

Coronavirus has spread to 188 countries. The total confirmed cases worldwide are 1,20,37,599 and 5,49,401 have died; 49,05,972 are active cases and 65,82,226 have recovered as on July 9, 2020 at 4:06 am.

India

7,67,296 24879Cases

2,69,789 4845Active

4,76,378 19547Recovered

21,129 487Deaths

In India, there are 7,67,296 confirmed cases including 21,129 deaths. The number of active cases is 2,69,789 and 4,76,378 have recovered as on July 9, 2020 at 2:30 am.

State & District Details

State Cases Active Recovered Deaths

DistrictCases

Akola757

Aurangabad1974

Dhule228

Jalgaon1039

Mumbai45478

Mumbai Suburban5363

Nagpur692

Nashik1575

Palghar1421

Pune9920

Satara629

Solapur1291

Thane13660

Yavatmal150

Ahmednagar190

Amravati291

Beed54

Bhandara41

Buldhana88

Chandrapur32

Hingoli208

Jalna201

Kolhapur646

Latur139

Nanded176

Nandurbar42

Parbhani78

Raigad1462

Ratnagiri350

Sangli145

Gadchiroli42

gondia69

Osmanabad125

Sindhudurg114

Wardha11

Washim13

223724 6603

91084 1771

123192 4634

9448 198

DistrictCases

Chittoor319

Guntur511

Krishna557

Kurnool795

Sri Potti Sriramulu Nell*296

Anantapur428

East Godavari356

Prakasam104

Srikakulam183

Visakhapatnam103

West Godavari199

Y.S.R.205

Vizianagaram23

22259 1062

10894

11101 1356

264 12

DistrictCases

Bengaluru Rural40

Bengaluru Urban529

Mysuru107

Bagalkote103

Ballari60

Belagavi337

Bidar219

Chikkaballapura149

Dakshina Kannada179

Dharwad61

Gadag45

Kalaburagi669

Mandya346

Tumakuru36

Uttara Kannada95

Vijayapura201

Chamarajanagara0

Chikkamagaluru19

Chitradurga14

Davangere204

Hassan205

Haveri24

Kodagu4

Kolar29

Koppal5

Raichur369

Ramanagara3

Shivamogga67

Udupi1176

Yadgir538

28877 2062

16531 1230

11876 778

470 54

DistrictCases

North Goa57

South Goa69

2039 136

824 85

1207 51

8

DistrictCases

Chengalpattu1314

Chennai23324

Kanchipuram503

Madurai322

Namakkal83

Ranipet133

Thanjavur130

Thiruvallur774

Thiruvarur67

Tiruppur116

Vellore71

Virudhunagar185

Ariyalur444

Coimbatore188

Cuddalore477

Dharmapuri15

Dindigul175

Erode75

Kallakurichi324

Kanniyakumari110

Karur88

Nagapattinam99

Perambalur133

Pudukkottai53

Ramanathapuram119

Salem258

Sivaganga46

Tenkasi103

The Nilgiris17

Theni129

Tiruchirappalli119

Tirunelveli433

Tirupathur45

Tiruvannamalai496

Tuticorin333

Villupuram509

Krishnagiri43

122350 3756

46483 641

74167 3051

1700 64

DistrictCases

Kannur357

Kottayam73

Alappuzha76

Idukki40

Kasaragod333

Kollam118

Kozhikode90

Malappuram119

Palakkad224

Pathanamthitta98

Thiruvananthapuram104

Thrissur106

Ernakulam60

Wayanad36

6195 301

2609 194

3559 107

27

DistrictCases

Raipur46

Korba100

Balod41

Baloda Bazar85

Balrampur17

Bastar2

Bemetara21

Bijapur2

Bilaspur100

Dantewada0

Dhamtari6

Durg31

Gariyaband10

Janjgir-Champa56

Jashpur77

Kabirdham52

Kanker19

Kondagaon0

Korea39

Mahasamund54

Mungeli87

Narayanpur0

Raigarh47

Rajnandgaon52

Sukma0

Surajpur9

Surguja14

3525 110

676 26

2835 84

14

DistrictCases

Hyderabad2475

MedchalMalkajgiri75

Ranga Reddy183

Suryapet87

Vikarabad40

Warangal Urban32

Adilabad22

Jagitial77

Jangoan8

Jayashankar Bhupalapally9

Jogulamba Gadwal40

Kamareddy11

Karimnagar17

Khammam26

Kumuram Bheem Asifabad8

Mahabubnagar30

Mancherial43

Medak11

Nalgonda33

Narayanpet3

Nirmal21

Nizamabad76

RajannaSircilla16

Sangareddy26

Bhadradri Kothagudem5

Mahabubabad10

Mulugu3

Nagarkurnool8

Peddapalli5

Siddipet7

Wanaparthy1

Warangal Rural4

YadadriBhuvanagiri40

29536 1924

11933 921

17279 992

324 11

DistrictCases

Baleshwar190

Bhadrak137

Jajapur322

Dhenkanal36

Kalahandi33

Kendrapara164

Khordha238

Koraput16

Sundargarh102

Anugul26

Balangir129

Bargarh16

Boudh34

Cuttack155

Deogarh33

Gajapati61

Ganjam581

Jagatsinghapur91

Jharsuguda8

Kandhamal28

Kendujhar34

Malkangiri20

Mayurbhanj73

Nabarangpur2

Nayagarh86

Nuapada69

Puri103

Rayagada2

Sambalpur16

Sonepur29

10624 527

3570 218

7006 303

48 6

DistrictCases

Barwani60

Bhopal1880

Dewas140

Dhar132

East Nimar266

Gwalior211

Indore3839

Jabalpur276

Ujjain799

Agar Malwa15

Alirajpur3

Betul35

Burhanpur351

Chhindwara16

Dindori29

Harda4

Hoshangabad37

Khargone196

Mandsaur112

Morena109

Raisen71

Ratlam51

Sagar228

Shajapur39

Shandol14

Sheopur26

Tikamgarh18

Vidisha37

Anuppur22

Ashoknagar13

Balaghat9

Bhind87

Chhatarpur35

Damoh26

Datia12

Guna8

Jhabua14

Katni3

Mandla15

Narsinghpur17

Neemuch319

Niwari0

Panna20

Rajgarh31

Rewa39

Satna24

Sehore12

Seoni2

Shivpuri15

Sidhi17

Singrauli13

Umaria10

16036 409

3420 183

11987 219

629 7

DistrictCases

Ahmadabad17125

Anand107

Arvalli134

Banas Kantha147

Bhavnagar146

Gandhinagar410

PanchMahals107

Surat2311

Vadodara1555

Bharuch56

Botad55

Chhotaudepur37

Dang5

Dohad43

GirSomnath45

Jamnagar63

Kachchh99

Kheda98

Mahesana159

Mahisagar125

Narmada25

Naysari35

Patan105

Rajkot135

SabarKantha101

Surendranagar55

Tapi6

Valsad47

Amreli16

DevbhumiDwarka22

Junagadh31

Morbi4

Porbandar11

38333 783

9051 198

27289 569

1993 16

DistrictCases

Ajmer379

Banswara91

Bharatpur563

Jaipur2177

Jhalawar329

Jodhpur1748

Kota503

Nagaur500

Alwar90

Barmer34

Bhilwara250

Bikaner112

Chittorgarh188

Churu81

Dausa61

Dholpur60

Dungarpur374

Hanumangarh31

Jaisalmer53

Jhunjhunu64

Karauli17

Pali352

Rajsamand140

SawaiMadhopur26

Sikar231

Tonk171

Udaipur724

Baran59

Bundi5

Ganganagar8

Jalore164

Pratapgarh14

Sirohi130

22063 659

4715 358

16866 291

482 10

DistrictCases

Faridabad867

Sonipat404

Ambala93

Bhiwani60

CharkiDadri43

Fatehabad38

Gurugram2950

Hisar98

Jhajjar114

Jind38

Kaithal48

Karnal104

Kurukshetra55

Nuh68

Palwal120

Panchkula39

Panipat78

Rohtak145

Sirsa50

Yamunanagar19

Mahendragarh47

Rewari56

18690 691

4302 227

14106 461

282 3

DistrictCases

Agra933

Aligarh215

Amroha80

Bareilly17

Bijnor157

Bulandshahr166

Firozabad190

Gautam Buddha Nagar1119

Kanpur Nagar286

Lucknow386

Mathura129

Meerut504

Moradabad252

Muzaffarnagar117

Rae Bareli78

Rampur203

Saharanpur298

Sant Kabeer Nagar132

Varanasi243

Auraiya37

Ayodhya120

Azamgarh138

Baghpat68

Bahraich73

Balrampur49

Banda27

Basti214

Bhadohi60

Budaun23

Etah52

Etawah46

Ghaziabad794

Ghazipur159

Gonda59

Gorakhpur166

Hapur225

Hardoi49

Jalaun41

Jaunpur194

Jhansi41

Kannauj69

Kasganj16

Kaushambi6

Mainpuri46

Mau48

Mirzapur22

Pilibhit15

Pratapgarh15

Prayagraj30

Sambhal116

Shamli40

Shravasti23

Sitapur32

Sultanpur97

Unnao42

Ambedkar Nagar92

Amethi206

Ballia60

Barabanki168

Chandauli38

Chitrakoot4

Deoria143

Farrukhabad36

Fatehpur3

Hamirpur3

Hathras43

Kanpur Dehat4

Kheri72

Kushi Nagar67

Lalitpur3

Maharajganj85

Mahoba3

Shahjahanpur25

Siddharth Nagar159

Sonbhadra10

31156 1188

9980 466

20331 704

845 18

DistrictCases

Central4817

East2472

New Delhi3405

North3059

North East1914

North West5463

Shahdara1580

South2329

South East2446

South West2391

West4768

104864 2033

23452

78199 3982

3213 48

DistrictCases

Dhubri30

Goalpara19

Marigaon50

Baksa14

Barpeta28

Biswanath16

Bongaigaon12

Cachar80

Charaideo29

Chirang6

Darrang20

Dhemaji47

Dibrugarh61

Dima Hasao86

Golaghat203

Hailakandi57

Hojai89

Jorhat24

Kamrup42

Kamrup Metro276

KarbiAnglong13

Karimganj85

Kokrajhar37

Lakhimpur57

Majuli2

Nagaon143

Nalbari23

Sivasagar20

Sonitpur27

South SalmaraMancachar4

Tinsukia84

Udalguri28

West KarbiAnglong5

13336 814

4591 412

8729 400

16 2

DistrictCases

East District3

North District0

South District3

West District0

133 8

62 7

71 1

0

DistrictCases

Buxar134

Gaya115

Munger188

Patna279

Rohtas256

Arwal52

Aurangabad75

Banka134

Begusarai243

Bhagalpur266

Bhojpur103

Darbhanga143

Gopalganj123

Jehanabad178

Kaimur (bhabua)105

Lakhisarai72

Madhepura82

Madhubani199

Nalanda123

Nawada122

PurbiChamparan138

Purnia135

Saran101

Siwan139

Vaishali87

Araria68

Jamui47

Katihar175

Khagaria253

Kishanganj75

Muzaffarpur96

Pashchim Champaran57

Saharsa88

Samastipur139

Sheikhpura118

Sheohar20

Sitamarhi73

Supaul87

13189 619

3528 346

9554 270

107 3

DistrictCases

24 Paraganas North1031

24 Paraganas South281

Darjeeling97

Howrah1435

Jalpaiguri88

Kalimpong18

Kolkata2777

Maldah235

Medinipur East153

Medinipur West159

Hooghly604

Murshidabad125

Nadia139

Paschim Bardhaman70

Purba Bardhaman130

Alipurduar39

Bankura116

Birbhum206

Coochbehar210

Dinajpur Dakshin50

Dinajpur Uttar216

Jhargram9

Purulia66

24823 986

7705 462

16291 501

827 23

DistrictCases

South Andamans33

Nicobars1

North And Middle Andaman1

149 2

72

77 2

0

DistrictCases

Pondicherry111

Karaikal2

Mahe4

Yanam0

1008 78

514 32

480 46

14

DistrictCases

Anjaw0

Changlang31

Dibang Valley0

East Kameng0

East Siang1

Kamle0

KraDaadi0

KurungKumey0

Leparada0

Lohit3

Longding0

Lower Dibang Valley0

Lower Siang0

Lower Subansiri0

Namsai2

PakkeKessang1

Papum Pare8

Shi Yomi0

Siang0

Tawang1

Tirap0

Upper Siang1

Upper Subansiri0

West Kameng0

West Siang1

287 11

176 7

109 4

2

DistrictCases

Dimapur20

Kiphire3

Kohima7

Longleng0

Mokokchung0

Mon8

Peren2

Phek1

Tuensang3

Wokha0

Zunheboto0

657 32

353

304 61

0

DistrictCases

Dadra And Nagar Haveli20

0

0

0

0

DistrictCases

Ranchi148

Bokaro16

Deoghar5

Dhanbad32

Garhwa80

Giridih19

Hazaribagh110

Jamtara2

Koderma58

Simdega48

Chatra1

Dumka5

East Singhbum170

Godda2

Gumla28

Khunti10

Latehar14

Lohardaga8

Pakur4

Palamu27

Ramgarh75

Sahebganj0

SaraikelaKharsawan20

West Singhbhum21

3096 100

904 34

2170 66

22

DistrictCases

Gomati74

North Tripura14

Dhalai196

Khowai24

Sepahijala174

South Tripura53

Unakoti49

West Tripura45

1761 57

436

1324 76

1

DistrictCases

Kargil77

LehLadakh43

1041

204

836

1

DistrictCases

Anantnag395

Bandipora175

Shopian255

Srinagar300

Baramulla271

Budgam110

Ganderbal37

Jammu138

Kathua53

Kulgam295

Kupwara231

Rajouri39

Ramban151

Reasi26

Samba25

Udhampur155

Mirpur0

Muzaffarabad0

Doda27

Kishtwar10

Poonch35

Pulwama108

9261 330

3545 156

5567 168

149 6

DistrictCases

Chamba29

Hamirpur117

Kangra105

Sirmaur11

Solan32

Una41

Bilaspur21

Kinnaur2

Kullu4

Lahaul And Spiti0

Mandi21

Shimla10

1101 18

257

833 43

11

DistrictCases

Jalandhar297

Ludhiana293

Patiala132

Amritsar485

Barnala25

Faridkot74

Firozepur50

Gurdaspur154

Hoshiarpur140

Kapurthala44

Mansa31

Moga65

Pathankot86

S.A.S Nagar137

Sangrur107

Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr)99

Sri Muktsar Sahib71

Tarn Taran163

Bathinda60

Fatehgarh Sahib57

Fazilka53

Rupnagar (Ropar)74

6907 158

1901

4828 274

178 3

DistrictCases

Haridwar94

Dehradun370

Nainital323

Almora71

Bageshwar31

Chamoli36

Champawat45

PauriGarhwal36

Pithoragarh43

Rudraprayag30

Tehri Garhwal110

Udam Singh Nagar83

Uttar Kashi24

3258 28

562

2650 29

46 3

DistrictCases

Bishnupur7

Chandel5

Churachandpur32

Imphal East10

Imphal West21

Jiribam3

Kakching2

Kamjong5

Kangpokpi26

Noney1

Pherzawl3

Senapati6

Tamenglong2

Tengnoupal9

Thoubal18

Ukhrul4

1435 5

642

793 22

0

DistrictCases

Chandigarh313

513 19

104 18

402 1

7

DistrictCases

East Khasi Hills22

East Garo Hills0

East Jaintia Hills0

North Garo Hills1

Ribhoi0

South Garo Hills0

South West Garo Hills4

South West Khasi Hills0

West Garo Hills5

West Jaintia Hills1

West Khasi Hills1

80

36

43

1

DistrictCases

Aizawl10

Champhai0

Hnahthial0

Khawzawl0

Kolasib11

Lawngtlai2

Lunglei2

Mamit8

Saiha0

Saitual1

Serchhip0

197

64

133

0

DistrictCases

Lakshadweep District0

0

0

0

0

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