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Get the vaccine before departing Sri Lanka to certain countries
View(s):- Meningococcal infection can be deadly to you and your family
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
Is the deadly meningococcal infection diagnosed on and off in Sri Lanka, due to close contact with a person who has returned from an endemic country or is it community-based now?
Dr. Kanthi Nanayakkara
“If you are heading to a meningococcal endemic country, take your vaccine against this disease. Otherwise, it can harm you and your loved ones on your return, as prevention is the key,” was the urgent appeal from the President of the Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Forum of Sri Lanka (VIDFSL), Dr. Kanthi Nanayakkara.
Whatever is triggering infections in Sri Lanka, it is good to take the vaccine, the VIDFSL reiterated, urging all those heading to West Asia including on the Haj pilgrimage in May, to get the jab which is one dose per person.
Dr. Nanayakkara said that it is also “highly” recommended that undergraduates going for studies to countries such as the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (United Kingdom) and Australia should get the vaccine before departure from Sri Lanka. (See Box)
With regard to the meningococcal infection, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the extended ‘meningitis belt’ of sub-Saharan Africa, stretches from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east (26 countries). It has the highest rates of the disease.
It is the Galle National Hospital’s Consultant Microbiologist, Dr. Bhagya Piyasiri, who talks about the recent burden of meningococcal disease with firsthand experience in the recent past.
On August 19, 2023, a person who had been released from the Galle Prison a few days earlier had been admitted to hospital, diagnosed with meningococcal disease, treated and released, while another prisoner with the same symptoms admitted on August 20 had died within two hours. Two other prisoners had also been brought to hospital earlier in the month, one of whom had died, while the other recovered.
Following these events, Dr. Piyasiri says that all the prisoners and staff – around 1,200 – of the Galle Prison had been given prophylactic antibiotics to prevent them from catching the infection.
Dr. Bhagya Piyasiri
Recalling that on the evening of August 21, 2023, two more prisoners had also been admitted, treated and discharged later, she looks at a pattern of meningococcal disease thereafter, not only from the prison but also from the community.
The hospital admissions had included: five prisoners with one death in January 2024; two prisoners in February 2024; four prisoners with one death in July 2024; two patients from the community (a two-month-old baby whose mother had visited the prison and another elderly person with no contact with the prison); and one prisoner in early November 2024. There had also been sporadic cases.
Dr. Piyasiri sends out a strong plea to all those who are hoping to visit West Asia to get the vaccine. “Don’t take it lightly. Otherwise, you can return as carriers and spread the disease among your loved ones, especially in congested household settings. Among the vulnerable in your homes are children and young adults.”
Looking at the bacteria causing meningococcal disease, she says that there are 12 serotypes, but those causing the majority of cases are A, B, C and Y.
“There are two vaccines – one is ‘A, C, Y and W-135’ and the other is ‘B’. However ‘B’ is not a common disease causative bacterium. The ones which caused trouble in Galle belonged to the ‘A, C, Y and W’ group and as such the vaccine which needs to be taken is ‘A, C, Y and W-135’.
| Vaccine at Assistant Port Health Office in Borella The vaccine to prevent meningococcal disease is available at the Assistant Port Health Office located within the premises of the Medical Research Institute (MRI), very close to the Borella junction, at No. 527, Dr. Danister De Silva Mawatha (Baseline Road), Colombo 8. The vaccine is an injection. | |
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