Dengue outbreak feared in Sri Lanka

Wednesday, September 13,2006 COLOMBO: Dengue has raised its head once again and medical authorities warned the public of another possible epidemic.

The Epidemiological Unit (EU) of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL) has declared a National Dengue Control Week from September 18-23 to avert any major outbreak but Medical Officer of the EU, Dr. Devika Mendis said that unless the general public cooperate with the health authorities the dengue menace cannot be controlled.

"Dengue is preventable; there is no medication for the disease once it is contracted. So the best remedy is to make sure that each individual keeps his surroundings free of mosquito breeding places," claimed Dr. Mendis.
Dr. Mendis said that compared to year 2005 this year�s figures have gone up steadily which forecasts yet another outbreak in the country.

"Up to Monday, 7000 cases have been reported with 31 deaths while in 2005 only 28 deaths and 5965 patients were reported to the Epidemiological Unit," he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Western Province has been identified as the province with the highest number of dengue cases in the entire country and Colombo district identified as the most susceptible to an outbreak.

Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kandy, Ranapura and Kurunegala Districts have been identified as high risk areas in the country while Galle, Matara Anuradhapura and Puttalam too have shown an increase in the cases during the last few years.

When asked whether the EU is expecting yet another major out- break similar to 2004, Dr. Mendis ruled out such an outbreak and said the health authorities were making every possible effort to avert such a situation.

"During 2004, 88 deaths were reported which is a high case load. With the help of the MOHs and PHIs the situation could be controlled but certainly the number of casualties have gone up and is still on the rise comparing to the year�s figures," said Dr. Mendis.
Source: southasianmedianet

User comments

There are no comments