In developing countries like India , epidemics like plague, malaria claim a large number of human lives, making it necessary to educate the masses, especially the illiterate, on heath care, malaria, AIDS, cancer and rabies that can be prevented through adequate awareness campaign. The ideal mechanism to control the scourge of diseases in our country is to educate the masses on personal hygiene and sanitation. Malaria is a case in point not only during monsoons but round the year due to construction activities and scourge of garbage in nook and corner of villages and cities which need attention on priority by authorities concerned. I once called on one of the patients who had cerebral malaria in a private nursing home. It was a irony that while the patient was struggling with the disease the hospital building had an open overhead tank. Another example is the dreadful rabies which claims 10, 000 lives annually in India. All pets brought from other countries need to be screened and kept in quarantine if necessary as countries like Australia and New Zealand have achieved zero-rabies status only by strictly observing norms. Hence, large scale awareness campaigns in villages across the country is the need of the hour.
