An updated edition of the Sri Lanka Medical Association’s (SLMA’s) ‘Guidelines and Information on Vaccines’ has been published and launched in Colombo and is to be distributed to medical practitioners across the country, a press release said.

The third book in this series, the 141-page publication is an expanded and revised version which covers 22 vaccines, topics relevant to immunisation and contains several valuable annexes. Its printing and launch were sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pharmaceuticals as a continuous medical education initiative, the release by GSK said.

The 30 chapters of the book are written by 17 specialists from the private sector, universities and the government sector including six from the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health. Speaking at its launch, Dr Lucian Jayasuriya, Joint Editor and Coordinator of the book said: “The SLMA took an important step in 2000 in publishing the ‘SLMA Guidelines on non-EPI vaccines.’ It filled a gap, as there was no reference book on non-EPI vaccines for the Sri Lankan healthcare provider. It became a popular book among doctors and medical students.”

He said the book was revised in 2004 to include all vaccines available in Sri Lanka and had to be reprinted twice. Some 5000 copies of the publication are in circulation.

The 17 specialists who contributed to the book’s content are Prof Anura Weerasinghe, Dr Risintha Premaratne, Dr Ananda Amarasinghe, Dr Ranjith Batuwanthudawe, Prof Jennifer Perera, Dr Kanishka Karunaratne, Dr Nihal Abeysinghe, Dr Omala Wimalaratne, Dr Paba Palihawadana, Dr Prasanna Siriwardena, Dr Sarath de Silva, Dr Desmond Fernando, Prof Srimali Fernando, Dr Iyanthi Abeyewickreme, Dr Sudath Peiris, Prof Rohini Fernandopulle and Dr Shalini Sri Ranganathan.