Infectious diseases have soared in the past two months across the country setting up new records and creating a crop full of fresh problems to doctors trying to cope with the overflow of patients.
Patients awaiting treatment in the long queues at the hospital Out Patients’ Departments include dengue patients , patients with viral flu symptoms, children with measles, chicken pox, diarrhoea and upper and lower respiratory diseases.
According to latest statistics from the government Epidemiology Unit, the number of suspected dengue cases for this year, reached a record of 15,928 as on February 32, despite figures plunging by more than half as of February 23 compared to January 2017.
Leptispirosisn (Rat Fever) also climbed to a new high of 313, with over 228 cases reported in January. Veering from the traditionally endemic farming areas down South, the disease for which is fatal if detected too late, health officials have voiced concerns that the disease is currently moving to fresh areas, following heavy rains.
In the Western Province, where the incidence had been low previously, at least 55 persons were identified with the disease – Colombo with 12, Gampaha 11 and Kalutara with the highest at 32. Galle district too showed a record high of 30 cases.Others showing high figures include Ratnapura 42, Moneragala 20 , Kurunegala 16, Jaffna 11 and Nuwara Eliya 9.
At the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital following the admission of two H!NI patients from Kilinocchi who had come to the hospital for treatment to the ICU for the first time two days ago, the director Dr S. Akilendan was reported to have said that pregnant women and young children had been cautioned and alerted to beware of the spread of the disease.
“ All measures are being taken to curtail its spread,” he said.
Health officials said that despite a significant reduction of many of these diseases in February, including Measles, they were taking no chances. “We have sent out circulars and advisories to all hospitals across the country.
Twenty Sentinel Hospitals have now been identified for Influenza surveillance. High Dependency wards have been set up in most base hospitals and surveillance on respiratory diseases, hepatitis, measles and influenza as well as dengue are being intensified, Deputy Director General, Public Health Services, Dr Sarath Amunugama told the Sunday Observer.
He said provision had been made to give influenza vaccine free of charge to all pregnant mothers and health care workers in state hospitals. He said weekly and monthly reporting of cases for hepatitis, dengue, viral flu and measles among other diseases was also part of the surveillance system.
Consultant Physician Dr Ananda Wijewickrema of the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Angoda said that while the hospital did not lack in drugs, equipment or physicians to deal with the outbreak of these infections they were short of staff with only 60 percent of nursing staff cadre for the dengue wards available.