Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists, and Leprologists Kerala – The saga goes on

Dear Friends,

As the current President of the prestigious Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists, and Leprologists (IADVL) Kerala, the official association of Kerala chapter of IADVL, it gives me immense pleasure to pen down these words in the golden jubilee year of the association. The phenomenal growth of the association in the past 50 years is a fitting tribute to the legends who toiled hard for the specialty in Kerala.

The story of IADVL Kerala dates back to January 1971 when the dermatologists of Kerala and South Canara district of Karnataka joined together to form the first state branch of the Indian Association of Dermatologists and Venereologists (IADV). This took place at the annual general body meeting of IADV held at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. The branch was officially inaugurated on May 29, 1971, at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram. The stalwarts of dermatology, late Dr. T Gopinathan and late Dr. BKH Nair, were appointed as the first President and Honorary General Secretary, respectively.^[1,2]

From a small branch started with seven members in 1971, IADVL Kerala in the subsequent 50 years has grown to a reputed body with 1129 active members (with a female predominance) and won several best branch awards (at the national level). In the past 50 years, we hosted four national conferences in Kerala, each was memorable for the academic splendor and the hospitality of the organizers. For the 1^st time, we will be hosting a MID DERMACON in 2023 at Kozhikode. Members of IADVL Kerala have served the National IADVL as the Presidents, Honorary General Secretaries, and other office bearers and have left a great legacy worthy of emulation.^[1]

Another important milestone in the history of IADVL Kerala is the birth of an official publication. The journey started in 1986, when the association started publishing booklets as CME (continuing medical education) series under the editorship of Dr. K Pavithran. The CME series was upgraded to an official print journal, Kerala Journal of Dermatology, Venereology, and Leprosy (KJDVL) in 2010. Dr. K Pavithran initially and later on Dr. S Criton took the journal forward.^[1]

To keep up with the requirements of the present day, it was decided to go for a journal catering to dermatologists, venereologists, leprologists, and dermatosurgeons around the world. KJDVL made way for JSSTD (Journal of Skin and Sexually Transmitted Diseases), which started publication from 2019 April, which is a peer-reviewed, open-access, biannual journal published online as well as in print.^[3,4] The first editorial team under Dr. K Abdul Samad did a commendable job of ensuring regular publication of the issues with quality articles. The team of Dr. Samad fulfilled the dream of getting the journal, the status of a peer-reviewed, indexed journal, with wide circulation, which has been a goal suggested by me for the official journal back in 2011, when I was the Honorary General Secretary of the association. I am sure JSSTD will scale greater heights under the current Editor, Dr. Sarita Sasidharanpillai, and I wish her team all success.

JSSTD is publishing this year’s two issues as “Golden Jubilee issues,” which is a matter of great pride and honor for all of us.

Long live IADVL,

Dr. Kunnummal Muhammed,

President, IADVL Kerala