An effort to fight the dengue menace
The word ‘dengue’ is now a household word in the day-to-day activities in the country. According to the media, there has been several deaths due to dengue fever. News reports indicate that there are thousands of victims in the island, notably in the Kinniya area. This is a very pathetic situation. The eradication of dengue fever is very difficult. Due the various methods adopted by the Ministry of Health this menace has been limited to some extent. But, the danger still lurks. Every individual has a responsibility to seriously consider this and take some action to prevent the spread of the disease, be vigilant at this juncture and save the nation from this dreadful enemy.
All Urban Councils, Municipal Councils and individuals must dispose of garbage and waste matter in the proper manner. The mass media should educate the public about this threat, and those visiting homes on inspection should be instructed to issue certificates to good householders regularly. Householders who receive good certificates could be rewarded and their names published in leading newspapers and broadcast over the radio and television.
Anybody making an extra effort to destroy dengue mosquitoes and their breeding grounds must be rewarded handsomely as an encouragement.
B.S. Fernando - Beruwala.
Gas cylinders sans certification
Most household items in Sri Lanka receive certification from the one and only recognized authority in the country.
My question is, “does the LP Gas cylinder come under the jurisdiction of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution?”.
The other day, I purchased a small cylinder from the closest gas outlet of the oldest consumer brand in the country, and lo and behold, when it was connected to the stove, to our shock we realized that gas was spraying out in all directions !. Fortunately, no serious incident occurred.
The next morning, I carted the cylinder to my ‘man’ at the gas stove repair shop and showed our recently purchased regulator, assuming it to be the cuplprit. He in turn gave me a small rubber bush, with instructions to fix it at the mouth of the nozzle of the cylinder and it worked.
Arriving late at office, I described my sad tale to my colleagues. I got another shock when one of them who lives in the heart of the city told me that my experience was not something new!
He said, whenever he had that problem, he simply had to dial the agent, who sent his assistant armed with a ‘bush’ to stop this ‘spraying nonsense’!
So, our question is ‘Does the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLS) award certification to a product which is, really speaking, ‘playing with fire’? If the answer is ‘yes’, there is no label, a sticker or any another form of indication as to its date of filling, sealing, etc, which shows that there is no quality control when it comes to gas cylinders.
Over to the SLSI and the concerned company.
LP Gas consumer - Mulleriyawa.
A bouquet to the ETF office
I retired from the private sector in the year 2003 and am still employed in the same company to date, on a contract basis.
Every three years, my contract expires and the company and I enter into a new contract. It has been the practice from then, that I collect the dues that remain in my favour at the Employees’ Trust Fund, at the earliest convenience, to make ends meet.
This year, in the month of February, I called over at the ETF Office at the Labour Department, Narahenpita, for the sixth time since my retirement in 2003. I opted for the emergency service with a Rs.1,000 fee, braced myself for the usual queue, pillar to post, question and answer procedures and so on.
But, to my utter disbelief, at the office which is now being located on the ground floor, with a staff of five with a single woman security officer, the service was superb, with a bespectacled lady (name starting with the alphabet ‘S’) armed with a smile at the helm. They quickly scanned the applications before approval. Despite their lack of total fluency in Tamil, another applicant seated along with me observed that they did communicate reasonably well with applicants from the plantation sector, while advising as to what to do.
My experience at the ETF office, on my sixth visit to this State Department during the past 14 years has to be seen, to be believed, because, on the third day, early in the morning, there was an SMS message on my mobile phone to state that my claim has been credited to my bank account ! I was speechless for a few minutes.
Keep it up, let other state institutions too follow the ETF style !
ETF recipient - Colombo.
Let’s not belittle the security forces by bringing in foreign judges
The present Government’s stance on not allowing any foreign tribunal or judges to inquire into the last phase of the war, in defeating the LTTE terrorists is very welcome and a right decision taken by a sovereign nation. The decision taken by President Maitripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wicremesinghe is a clear indication of the Government’s firm commitment of not allowing any foreign judges to intrude into the internal affairs of a sovereign state. Any country in the world or foreign organization, such as the United Nations Human Rights Council or Amnesty International should understand that Sri Lanka has fought a separatist war with a most ruthless separatist terrorist organization in the world - the ‘LTTE’ - to protect the sovereignty of the country and its people. The Government’s strong conviction was to annihilate terrorism but not to harm or destabilize the people living in the northern and eastern provinces. During the 30-year struggle the country has lost many intellectuals, a President, a renowned Foreign Minister, Opposition Leaders, several Ministers, innocent people, as well as children. The Sri Lankan armed forces salvaged the country from a prolonged war which devastated the country’s economy and the well being of its people.
At this juncture, the international community should be happy and contented that terrorism in a poor country like Sri Lanka has been completely wiped out and its people now live peacefully. In a war there cannot be crimes, but there are two sides, the enemy and the defendant.They both fight for their causes. Finally, one faction wins and the other loses. In Sri Lanka too, the same thing happened but civilian causalities occurred as innocent Tamil people have been used as a human shield by the LTTE. Hence, it is inevitable that civilians would have lost their lives in a cross war. In such a predicament, the security forces cannot be blamed for committing war crimes. Other human rights violations, if any, committed by the security forces can be considered by a war tribunal appointed locally without belittling the forces by letting foreign judges to inquire into them.
Z.A.M. Shukoor - Aranayaka
Ayurveda, alternate medicine need regulatory body
Reliance on alternate systems of medicine such as, Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani have gained great heights since these systems have been practised from time immemorial. Great sages of the past have discovered the use of this system and treated patients with outstanding results. The carefully maintained secrets of treatment have devolved from father to son. The system utilizes indigenous herbs, minerals, bees honey, pure metals, paraffin, essential oils, alcohol, etc. in the production of decoctions, powders, tablets, capsules, pastes, pills, etc. The constraint now facing the system is the non-availability of an established Pharmacopeia. Therefore, it is difficult to set an accurate dosage. The dosage prescribed in this system is mainly based on the experience of the practitioner- a primitive system where doses are not consistent. The patients are also given a prescription of herbs to take home and cook in order to prepare the medicine. The procedure adopted by each patient is therefore according to his own perception and can lead to an overdose. While adverse reaction to herbs is not a common occurrence, still there are certain allergies that can arise due to the differences in patient metabolism. In countries such as India, Pakistan, Nepal, China, including East Europe several products are manufactured following research carried out by Herbiologists (Specialists in the scientific study of Herbs) who have been successful in developing medicines for treatment of diseases such as, type 11 diabetes mellitus, prostrate enlargement, erectile dysfunction, cancer, etc. However, the dosages prescribed are hypothetic estimates. Furthermore, several manufacturers prepare special medicinal oils utilizing herbs, etc.and there is no consistency as the different manufacturers prepare the medicines according to their own formula.
Thus, products under the same name do not produce the same efficacy, for instance, Mahanarayana oil purchased from three different manufacturers are three different products, since there is no uniform standard in the production. In the case of established British, Indian or European Pharmacopeia there is a set formula in manufacture; pharmacopeia also prescribes the protocol for carrying out tests to ascertain if the product meets the set standard. The pharmacopeia further stipulates methods for packaging in order to ensure product stability and determine shelf life. Most importantly, the pharmacopeia sets out the safe dosage (LD 50) for each product based on the establishment of the lethal dose. The results of the several documented laboratory tests and clinical trials will form the basis to establish the conformity of the drug to the BP/BPC/USP/IP or such established pharmacopeia, prior to the release of a drug, duly labelled, showing the name and address of the manufacturer, batch No., date of manufacture and expiry, ingredients and dosage.
The establishment of a regulatory system will also boost the sales of products by genuine manufacturers while eradicating unscrupulous manufacturers. Since the raw material used to produce Ayurveda and such alternate medicines are mainly derived from nature and not synthesized, they rarely have any untoward effect on the human being. However, the response to treatment is not consistent in the absence of a set formula and standard.
In view of the above there is an urgent need for the Department of Ayurveda to initiate the setting up of a Pharmacopeia standard which should be the desired goal for the manufacture of such drugs.
In recent months, there have been several advertisements for these products on TV, radio and print media making claims of miraculous cures. If an established pharmacopeia is available it will be possible to declare such advertisements as unethical and impose the same rules for registering these medicines as applicable to Western Medicines as stipulated by the Cosmetic Devices and Drugs Act which can ban such unethical advertisements.
Dr. Roger Emmanuel - UK Camp: Wellawatte