Sri Lanka: 2009 Dengue- 33,081 cases; 334 deaths

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Re: Sri Lanka: 2009 Dengue- 33,081 cases; 334 deaths

Source: http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Se...px?ARTID=72531

Monday, January 04, 2010

Cuba gifts bacillus to control dengue and leptospirosis


By Sandun A. Jayasekera

A stock of 30,000 litres of Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelenesis (BTI) to control dengue and leptospirosis will arrive from Cuba by the end of January, a spokesman of the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry said yesterday.

?The BTI stock is coming as a donation from Cuba to Sri Lanka, and the bacteria will be used for the first time in Sri Lanka to control dengue and leptospirosis, said ministry spokesman W.M.D.Wanninayaka.

The bacteria will be first used as a pilot project in Kandy, Akurana and Gampola. Arrangements have been made to spray BTI from the air using Air Force helicopters. Cabinet has already approved Rs. 200 million for the purpose, said Mr. Wanninayaka.

The bacteria will also be used to destroy rodents, which are the main source of leptospirosis, he said.

Health authorities are worried about the possibility of dengue spreading to epidemic proportions this year and claiming more victims. There were 334 dengue related deaths and 33,081 reported cases of dengue up to yesterday according to the Government Epidemiology Unit.

Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva had got down two epidemiologists from Cuba to conduct a study on the use of BTI last year. They had recommended air spraying of BTI as a tried and tested method to control rapidly spreading dengue, said Wanninayaka.

He said there was a slight delay in importing the stock of BTI as it needed Agriculture Ministry approval. Many countries do not use it as a pest or vector control method.

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Re: Sri Lanka: 2009 Dengue- 33,081 cases; 334 deaths

Source: http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=30946

More persons in Jaffna peninsula die of Dengue
[TamilNet, Wednesday, 06 January 2010, 03:18 GMT]

Eleven persons including two school children under ten years of age have died of dengue fever in Jaffna peninsula until Tuesday night, Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) sources said. The number of persons claimed by dengue fever may be more as the cause of the death of some patients has not been found out, the sources added. Lack of preventive measures, medicine, insufficient number of doctors and the disregard shown by the government are the causes for the spread of dengue fever in Jaffna penisula, civil society organizations said.

The regional hospitals in the peninsula keep sending the dengue patients to Jaffna Teaching Hospital which can hardly accommodate all of them.

More than a hundred patients come to JTH daily, hospital sources said.

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Re: Sri Lanka: 2009 Dengue- 33,081 cases; 334 deaths

Source: http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=31005

Dengue fever spreads unchecked in Jaffna
[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 January 2010, 07:49 GMT]

Dengue fever which has claimed the lives of 15 persons, including 13 children under thirteen, within the limits of Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) is spreading fast and unchecked due to negligence of JMC authorities, according to Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) sources. A 7-month-old child died due to dengue fever Thursday in Nalloor, the sources said.

308 persons were admitted to JTC with dengue fever in December while 350 more had been admitted in January alone.

Cases of dengue had been identified in Nalloor, Cha?ndilippaay, Uduththu?rai, Koa?ndaavil and Changkaanai.

No information is available on cases of dengue fever in Vadamaraadchi and Thenmaraadchi.

Divisional Director of Health Services, Dr. N. Ketheeswaran, said that preventive measures in three stages is to be taken to contain the spread of dengue fever with the assistance of the Ministry of Health.