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Thalassaemia on the rise
View(s):The number of thalassaemia patients in the country is on the increase with the latest statistics showing 4,924 carriers of this disease, according to details submitted to Parliament yesterday.
In 2005 there were 2,094 patients on record but since then the number has increased to 4,924 by 2010, Deputy Health Minister Lalith Dissanayaka said. The disease is most prevalent in the Kurunegala, Kandy, Puttalam, Badulla, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Matale and Nuwara Eliya districts, the deputy minister said in response to a question raised by UNP Hambantota District MP Sajith Premadasa.
The most number of patients on record are in the Kurunegala District at 574 recorded between 2005 and 2013.There have been 102 deaths also recorded during this period.