Dengue fever epidemic resurfaces in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, Mar 05, 2010
Dengue fever, a disease that afflicted 2,227 people in Sri Lanka in 2009, is spreading once again, especially in Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna peninsula, according to data released by the Epidemiology Unit of Sri Lanka. The number of infected with the mosquito-borne disease has passed 8,000 in the first two months of 2010, with 46 of them being fatal, according to the Epidemiology Unit on February 26. Data showed that the number of cases had shot up nearly 260 percent compared to the figure during the same period in 2009. Sri Lanka's dengue fever problem is mostly prevalent in the Colombo, Gampaha and the Jaffna districts, according to Web site, Dowell Netherlands. Ministry figures reported that nearly half of the deaths came from the three districts, with Jaffna district reporting the highest number of cases with 1,557, including eight deaths. Gampaha district reported 1,004 cases and six deaths, while the Colombo district tallied 954 cases and seven deaths. Dr. Paba Palihawadana, the director of the Epidemiology Unit, emphasized that public help in destroying mosquito breeding grounds was critical in helping to control the spread of the disease. Dowell-Netherlands reported that the Sri Lankan government is planning on buying the larvicidal bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI) from a Cuban company to aid in controlling the dengue epidemic in the country. On Thursday (March 4), Sri Lankan Minister of Healthcare and Nutrition, Numal Sripala de Silva, announced that he had received the cabinet's approval to appoint members for a National Task Force to control the dengue epidemic in the country, Dowell-Netherlands reported. The Task Force aims to strengthen the inter-sectoral coordination and social mobilization at National Level. Also, the Ministry is implementing measures to better educate the public and control mosquito breeding grounds. Health authorities believe that destroying breeding grounds is the most effective measure in weakening the dengue epidemic. Dengue fever, which is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, causes symptoms of high fever, rashes, headaches and muscle and joint pain. Most dengue infections cause relatively mild illness, but some can progress into dengue hemorrhagic fever, which is a severe and often fatal complication of the disease.
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