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Inclement weather brings the sting back, warn health officials
The prevailing weather is causing concern among health authorities as the number of dengue cases has increased since last month (October). Till then there was a downward trend in the number of cases, the Sunday Times learns.
The prevailing weather could increase the number of potential mosquito breeding places as seen in this picture that shows water with dengue mosquito larvae that had collected in a bucket. File pic
In spite of the increase the Epidemiology Unit says in comparison to the past fouryears, this year has recorded the lowest number of dengue patients.
For the past week alone however 421 cases were reported with 1,904 dengue patients being reported for October bringing the total case load to 23,080 for this year so far. This is in addition to the 38 deaths that were recorded for this year.
Dr. Preshila Samaraweera, consultant community physician attached to the National Dengue Control Unit said, “We are concerned because when the case load increases, the hospitals cannot manage and this may cause fatalities.
Usually 200 to 300 cases are reported on a weekly basis. However, once the number of affected people increases it is difficult to control the spread of the disease, she warned.
Dengue cases usually peak between May and August. This year however saw a drop in cases during this period. Health authorities said this was mainly due to the success of mosquito control and awareness programmes.
Health officials have also informed ten dengue high risk districts to take mosquito preventive measures. These districts include Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kandy, Kurunegala, Ratnapura, Jaffna, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Puttalam and Galle.
Doctor Paba Palihawadana, Chief Epidemiologist of the Central Epidemiological Unit also expressing her concern about the recent increase in cases said the inclement weather was increasing the number of potential mosquito breeding places.
The National Dengue Control Unit, together with the Presidential task force hopes to conduct a special dengue mosquito control programme throughout the Western Province, from Thursday to Saturday next week.