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NEW DELHI: What if spotting a cluster of fevers or sudden diarrhoea cases in your neighbourhood could help stop an outbreak? A new nationwide system launched by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is now making that possible — by turning ordinary citizens into the country’s earliest disease sentinels.At the heart of the system is a simple QR code. Anyone can scan it from the Health Ministry or NCDC website, or from posters and materials being rolled out across states. Once scanned, the user enters basic details and selects what they’re reporting — a fever cluster, recurring diarrhoea, jaundice, dog bites, suspected food poisoning or any other unusual health event. Photos or short videos can also be uploaded. The moment a report is submitted, the alert lands simultaneously in district, state and national surveillance dashboards, where officers verify it and initiate investigations if required.Dr Ranjan Das, director NCDC said that the tool fills a critical gap in India’s surveillance network. Many outbreaks begin silently in homes, neighbourhoods or small gatherings well before patients reach hospitals. A citizen report — sometimes within hours — can help health authorities intervene early, contain spread and prevent large-scale outbreaks.Dr Himanshu Chauhan, additional director and HOD IDSP call this a “game changer,” especially during dengue, diarrhoea, influenza and waterborne disease seasons. But they caution that the system will work only if citizens use it responsibly — and consistently.To protect users, all submissions are routed through secure government servers, with personal data safeguarded under national cyber-security protocols. False or irrelevant reports are filtered through a combination of automated checks and manual verification by trained district teams.The Community Reporting System, introduced in January 2024 under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), was envisioned to give communities a direct role in early outbreak detection. Despite being launched in 2024, the tool remained largely unknown due to poor efforts to popularize it, resulting in only about 100 valid reports so far. The low utilisation highlights the gap between technology and public engagement, though officials say even this early trickle shows that once people know the platform exists, they are willing to report.The message from NCDC is clear: public health isn’t just a government job — it needs citizen vigilance too. Sometimes, a QR scan and 30 seconds may be all it takes to stop the next outbreak.