Sri Lankan officials prepare for possible dengue outbreak
Sri Lanka, Jun 11, 2010
Sri Lankan health officials say they are stepping up efforts to avoid a dengue outbreak in the capital, Colombo. According to the UN's Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), the Ministry of Health's Epidemiology Unit says that 1,806 dengue cases were reported in the city in May. Of those cases, nine people died, bringing the total number of deaths to 95 this year. According to IRIN, last year 4,813 cases were reported with 42 deaths in the city. According to IRIN, Colombo is now on high alert because of prevailing weather conditions. The chief medical officer for the Colombo Municipal Council, Pradeep Kariyawasam, said that teams of workers were going door-to-door to inspect homes and schools for possible breeding grounds as well as to raise awareness. According to IRIN, officials say that epidemic levels are observed every four years. According to IRIN, rains in mid-May displaced 13,000 people in southern and western Sri Lanka, including Colombo district and parts of the city. According to IRIN, the Epidemiology Unit expects the number of dengue cases to rise with expected monsoon rains in June and July. According to Kariyawasam, with heavy rains, most mosquito-breeding areas get washed away, but with a continuous drizzle, there is a higher chance that breeding areas would remain intact. Prishanthy Wijesinghe, a senior health official with the Ministry of Health's Epidemiology Unit, says that the government has a comprehensive program to fight dengue. Sri Lanka's Dengue Control Unit has deployed 300 officers countrywide to monitor the situation. The unit was established in 2005. last year 35,007 cases were reported nationwide, which is an increase of more than 400 percent from 2008. The highest number, 7,048, was reported in June, followed by 6,872 in July. The unit reported that around 346 people died from dengue countrywide. According to IRIN, the UN's World Health Organization (WHO) is working closely with officials and doctors around the country to provide training to diagnose and manage the disease. 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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