Outbreak of meningitis/encephalitis in Sri Lanka hospital

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Re: Outbreak of meningitis/encephalitis in Sri Lanka hospital

From a UN press briefing. The death counts given include all causes, including hepatitis, dengue, diarrhea, but also the meningitis and encephalitis. It is tough to tell if the meningitis and encephalits is caused by the unhygenic conditions, or is some unusual pathogen such as Nipah is present in the camp.

http://www.isria.com/pages/22_July_2009_1.php

Question: Just one more on that. I wanted to know, there was a report in the Times of London saying that, in the camps in Vavuniya, up to 1,400 people have died, and the AP has also reported that the conditions are very dire in terms of health. What?s the UN, if they?re closely monitoring, are they monitoring both the health and the level of deaths inside these camps?

Associate Spokesperson: Well, that of course depends on the level of access we have. We don?t have necessarily the most precise information about things like death tolls. At the same time, we do have tremendous concerns about the humanitarian conditions in the camps, and that was in fact one of the topics that the Secretary-General raised with the Sri Lankan President last week.

 

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Re: Outbreak of meningitis/encephalitis in Sri Lanka hospital

This article would seem to indicate that JE is suspect, if not confirmed. The presence of dengue indicates a mosquito problem, and that would certainly cause JE as well. But the reported fatality rate is very high, although that could be from other illnesses and malnutrition. I'm still up in the air on this one. The epidemiology would be a giveaway, as would laboratory tests, but in those conditions, neither is likely forthcoming.

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=29832

Dengue detected among IDPs in Vavuniyaa
[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 July 2009, 10:09 GMT]
For the first time seven persons were admitted to Vavuniyaa general hospital Tuesday on a single day suffering from Dengue fever, according to hospital sources. Six of the thirteen patients admitted to Vavuniyaa Hospital on that day had also been detected suffering from Japanese Encephalitis. The dengue patients are said to be inmates from Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps located in Vavuniyaa. These IDP camps where hundreds of thousands of Vanni displaced persons are held are described as internment camps by human rights organizations and activists.

Following the detection of dengue patients, steps have been taken by Vavuniyaa hospital authorities to conduct blood checks on all patients seeking treatment with a history of fever.

Meanwhile, civil sources in Vavuniyaa complain that health authorities in Vavuniyaa have failed to adopt proper measures to contain the spread of dengue in IDP camps and elsewhere in the district.