Viral fever on the rise in Colombo and Jaffna

By Nadia Fazlulhaq

Chikungunya is continuing to spread in certain areas in Colombo, says Colombo Municipal Council’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam.

He said a medical team had found out that high mosquito breeding areas like Kimbulaela, Modera and Mattakkuliya had reported a high number of Chickungunya cases.

“In these areas we found a large number of patients with viral fever. We are not really sure whether it is Chikungunya, but Dengue too had a 6% increase this year. We have started a mosquito control programme to combat the menace,” Dr. Kariyawasam added.

The CMO said the records from government hospitals were not accurate as many patients get treatment from private clinics.
When The Sunday Times contacted the National Hospital, an official said that more than 400 viral fever patients were reported during the past few weeks.

But in Jaffna, Chikungunya is spreading fast and people are facing many difficulties without proper medical treatment.

Hospital sources in Jaffna said that more than 5,000 had obtained treatment from the General Hospital and more than 1000 attend clinics daily. Patients in Jaffna are unable to purchase even painkillers as they are not available in the market.

The east reported a decrease in Chikungunya patients this week. Kalmunai Base Hospital sources said the daily intake of patients was around 10 or15.

“In the past few weeks there were around 35 to 50 patients everyday and most of them were adults,” Kalmunai Hospital sources said.