LAUSR

Disease surveillance is an important component of the public health programme of every country, and each childhood immunisation programme is incomplete without a strict surveillance for vaccine-preventable diseases. Kerala (Fig. 1), being one of the states in South India maintaining high health standards, has established the surveillance of diseases with public health importance using the model of ‘district level disease surveillance’ developed in the North Arcot district in the nearby state of Tamil Nadu. The disease reports received in the office of the District Medical Officer (Health) on all working days are scrutinised and analysed. At present, the daily disease reporting is done in all of the 14 districts of Kerala through computer-assisted Integrated Disease surveillance Programme (IDSP). Even though vaccination against the mumps virus is routinely administered as per the National childhood immunisation schedule, there are no efficient methods at present, to assess the burden of disease in the community. Vaccination of approximately 90% of the population is believed to provide herd immunity against the mumps virus. Since mumps is