Ronan Kelly
Retired 2020
Re: Sri Lanka Dengue 2014
I have been commenting for years in these threads that the officially reported Dengue fatality figure seems to be manipulated lower. Another piece of evidence from today's "Sunday Leader". - Ro
Dengue Spreads Alarmingly
Chaos in Government Hospitals
By Nirmala Kannangara
The health authorities have issued a dengue red alert as the country is facing a dengue epidemic situation after 2009. Colombo, Kalutara and Gampaha districts in the Western Province are the worst affected areas recording the highest number of deaths and suspected cases.
...
Eyebrows have been raised as to why the National Hospital Colombo and the Colombo South Teaching Hospital (Kalubowila) have attempted to hide the number of reported dengue deaths in their respective hospitals.
“Last month alone 17 dengue deaths were reported from Kalubowila Hospital but it is questionable as to why the hospital authorities failed to report the cause of death as dengue. Fifteen patients died in the Kalubowila hospital while two patients died after they were transferred to Lady Ridgway Hospital and to the Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital,” reliable sources from the Kalubowila Hospital said.
The sources on condition of anonymity accused the hospital for giving the cause of death as rat fever (Leptospirosis) in death certificates.
“If a dengue patient is managed in the proper way and unless the patient comes to the hospital at the last stages, dengue is a curable disease. There are medicine and various varieties of saline to be given with adequate rest to the patient. But the doctors sometimes mess up and the patients have to pay the ultimate price. That is why they do not want to say that there were dengue deaths in the hospital,” the sources added.
Meanwhile National Hospital sources too confirmed to The Sunday Leader that it is the same at the country’s main hospital. “In most cases the cause of death is given as Leptospirosis which is similar to dengue symptoms.
Antibiotics are given to both illnesses. Although the blood report clearly shows the drop of the platelet count and such patients are suspected for dengue, we are puzzled as to why the cause of death is given as some other disease but not dengue. This is a puzzle amongst us. Is it to hide the statistics or have they mistakenly treated the patient for any other disease other than dengue,” he added.
...
Meanwhile Director National Hospital Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that although there is no dengue unit in the hospital there are high dependency units (HDU) in every ward to give proper treatments.
“We have managed the dengue situation properly and for the first five months there were only five deaths reported and we treated over 450 suspected cases last month. At any given time there are about 40 to 45 patients taking treatment for dengue at the National Hospital. However Dr. Jasinghe refuted the allegations leveled against his hospital for giving different causes of death for those who died of dengue.“We have never done so. We cannot furnish wrong details in the death certificate,” added Dr. Jasinghe.
Meanwhile Director Kalubowila Hospital Dr. Asela Gunawardena too disclaimed the allegation levelled against his hospital and said that it is the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) who conducts the postmortem.
...
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2014/06/01/dengue-spreads-alarmingly/
Wet weather sends dengue figures up
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
With intermittent showers in different parts of the country sending dengue numbers up, fear is gripping men, women and children.
The dengue death toll for this year is 39 with this dreaded disease sending 10,700 people to hospitals across the country.
...
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/140601/news/wet-weather-sends-dengue-figures-up-101081.html
I have been commenting for years in these threads that the officially reported Dengue fatality figure seems to be manipulated lower. Another piece of evidence from today's "Sunday Leader". - Ro
Dengue Spreads Alarmingly
Chaos in Government Hospitals
By Nirmala Kannangara
The health authorities have issued a dengue red alert as the country is facing a dengue epidemic situation after 2009. Colombo, Kalutara and Gampaha districts in the Western Province are the worst affected areas recording the highest number of deaths and suspected cases.
...
Eyebrows have been raised as to why the National Hospital Colombo and the Colombo South Teaching Hospital (Kalubowila) have attempted to hide the number of reported dengue deaths in their respective hospitals.
“Last month alone 17 dengue deaths were reported from Kalubowila Hospital but it is questionable as to why the hospital authorities failed to report the cause of death as dengue. Fifteen patients died in the Kalubowila hospital while two patients died after they were transferred to Lady Ridgway Hospital and to the Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital,” reliable sources from the Kalubowila Hospital said.
The sources on condition of anonymity accused the hospital for giving the cause of death as rat fever (Leptospirosis) in death certificates.
“If a dengue patient is managed in the proper way and unless the patient comes to the hospital at the last stages, dengue is a curable disease. There are medicine and various varieties of saline to be given with adequate rest to the patient. But the doctors sometimes mess up and the patients have to pay the ultimate price. That is why they do not want to say that there were dengue deaths in the hospital,” the sources added.
Meanwhile National Hospital sources too confirmed to The Sunday Leader that it is the same at the country’s main hospital. “In most cases the cause of death is given as Leptospirosis which is similar to dengue symptoms.
Antibiotics are given to both illnesses. Although the blood report clearly shows the drop of the platelet count and such patients are suspected for dengue, we are puzzled as to why the cause of death is given as some other disease but not dengue. This is a puzzle amongst us. Is it to hide the statistics or have they mistakenly treated the patient for any other disease other than dengue,” he added.
...
Meanwhile Director National Hospital Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that although there is no dengue unit in the hospital there are high dependency units (HDU) in every ward to give proper treatments.
“We have managed the dengue situation properly and for the first five months there were only five deaths reported and we treated over 450 suspected cases last month. At any given time there are about 40 to 45 patients taking treatment for dengue at the National Hospital. However Dr. Jasinghe refuted the allegations leveled against his hospital for giving different causes of death for those who died of dengue.“We have never done so. We cannot furnish wrong details in the death certificate,” added Dr. Jasinghe.
Meanwhile Director Kalubowila Hospital Dr. Asela Gunawardena too disclaimed the allegation levelled against his hospital and said that it is the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) who conducts the postmortem.
...
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2014/06/01/dengue-spreads-alarmingly/
Wet weather sends dengue figures up
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
With intermittent showers in different parts of the country sending dengue numbers up, fear is gripping men, women and children.
The dengue death toll for this year is 39 with this dreaded disease sending 10,700 people to hospitals across the country.
...
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/140601/news/wet-weather-sends-dengue-figures-up-101081.html