By Carol Aloysius
To arrest the dengue epidemic now raging, the Health Ministry will launch several new services shortly. They include a Dengue Virus Web for anyone interested in obtaining information on dengue, a Hotline for Dengue Treatment and Management, a National Dengue Death Audit, and special Dengue wards, health sources said.
“We have already launched the Dengue Virus Net. It will serve as a network of exchange of professional information on Dengue to the public and professionals,” a health spokesman told The Nation.
Explaining reasons for setting up a National Dengue Death Audit, the spokesperson said that it was to help both patients and health professionals in the successful management of dengue. “The Audit will cover Dengue patients who have been cured and will also look into the causes of dengue deaths that have occurred so far. It will look into the reasons for these deaths and see whether the victims had followed the basic guidelines on dengue treatment and whether they had sought medical treatment on time.
In the case of those who have fully received from the virus, the Audit will also make a study as to what factors had led to their being fully cured. “We are not trying to find fault with anyone treating these patients. We ‘re simply trying to collect as much information as we can on the subject as at present there is still no specific cure for the disease.”
A hotline for Dengue Treatment and Management is also in the pipeline and expected to be launched soon.
“This is to implement treatment protocol and offer services of specialized doctors to anyone treating dengue patients. Any doctor treating a dengue patient in any hospital in the country, can obtain free advice from specialized doctors who have under gone special training in the field of dengue management , once the Hotline is introduced,” health sources told The Nation. They said that three specialists from different disciplines – including a paediatrician and neuro surgeon attached to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children and the Colombo National Hospital, would be available for consultation on the hotline once set up. In addition, several specialist doctors will offer other services as well on the same hotline.
To accommodate the large number of dengue patients Ministry sources said that separate Dengue Wards will be established in every hospital across the country, where the epidemic raged.
Meanwhile to help local doctors treating dengue patients, a team of Thai medical experts trained in dengue treatment and management are now in Sri Lanka on the invitation of the Health Minister, to share their knowledge and expertise with local doctors. They will hold training sessions at all leading general hospitals across the country, a health spokesman said, adding that Thailand had been successful in tackling serious dengue epidemics in the past.
“We have already launched the Dengue Virus Net. It will serve as a network of exchange of professional information on Dengue to the public and professionals,” a health spokesman told The Nation.
Explaining reasons for setting up a National Dengue Death Audit, the spokesperson said that it was to help both patients and health professionals in the successful management of dengue. “The Audit will cover Dengue patients who have been cured and will also look into the causes of dengue deaths that have occurred so far. It will look into the reasons for these deaths and see whether the victims had followed the basic guidelines on dengue treatment and whether they had sought medical treatment on time.
In the case of those who have fully received from the virus, the Audit will also make a study as to what factors had led to their being fully cured. “We are not trying to find fault with anyone treating these patients. We ‘re simply trying to collect as much information as we can on the subject as at present there is still no specific cure for the disease.”
A hotline for Dengue Treatment and Management is also in the pipeline and expected to be launched soon.
“This is to implement treatment protocol and offer services of specialized doctors to anyone treating dengue patients. Any doctor treating a dengue patient in any hospital in the country, can obtain free advice from specialized doctors who have under gone special training in the field of dengue management , once the Hotline is introduced,” health sources told The Nation. They said that three specialists from different disciplines – including a paediatrician and neuro surgeon attached to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children and the Colombo National Hospital, would be available for consultation on the hotline once set up. In addition, several specialist doctors will offer other services as well on the same hotline.
To accommodate the large number of dengue patients Ministry sources said that separate Dengue Wards will be established in every hospital across the country, where the epidemic raged.
Meanwhile to help local doctors treating dengue patients, a team of Thai medical experts trained in dengue treatment and management are now in Sri Lanka on the invitation of the Health Minister, to share their knowledge and expertise with local doctors. They will hold training sessions at all leading general hospitals across the country, a health spokesman said, adding that Thailand had been successful in tackling serious dengue epidemics in the past.
Source: http://www.nation.lk/2011/06/26/news20.htm
Dengue cases leap by 440 in three days
By Carol Aloysius
The dengue epidemic took another leap forward over the past three days pushing the surge as the cumulative number of cases top over the 9,000 mark.
Within the past six months of the year, a total of 69 persons have died from Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF), the most virulent form of the disease, the majority of those who have succumbed to it being school going children and pre-schoolers. Hospital authorities from the country’s premier Children’s Hospital, the Lady Ridgeway Hospital at Borella, have been reported as saying that between 1,000 to 1,500 children are being brought on a daily basis to the hospital with symptoms of dengue from all over the island. “This is because their parents are now more aware of the danger of treating them at home and delaying to bring them to hospital when the fever rises. At present both the Lady Ridgeway Hospital and Colombo National Hospital are full of patients suffering from dengue which is fast spreading in spite of our efforts to contain the disease and the doctors and nurses are working around the clock treating them,” a health source spokesman told The Nation.
The total cumulative number of cases as on June 23, 2011 was 9,083 as against 8,547 the previous day showing a jump of 436 suspected cases within just one day. This is also eight times more than the number of patients reported at the beginning of the year which was 910, according to the Government Epidemiology Unit (GEUs) statistics.
A breakdown of the cumulative number of dengue cases in the Regional Divisions of Health Services (RDHS), up to June 23, 2011, shows Colombo still in the lead of the dengue epidemic with 3,236 cases, and 1,218 cases from the Colombo Municipal area alone. However, although the actual number after confirmation is around 750 Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam, Chief Medical Officer, Colombo Municipal Council told The Nation.
The cumulative number of cases in over 16 districts have now exceeded the 100 mark, with at least two – Colombo (3,413) and Gampaha (1,113) exceeding the 1,000 mark. Batticaloa has the third highest (578) cases and Kalutara the fourth highest with 551. Ratnapura occupies the fifth slot with 400 cases.
Source: http://www.nation.lk/2011/06/26/news14.htm
Dengue cases leap by 440 in three days
By Carol Aloysius
The dengue epidemic took another leap forward over the past three days pushing the surge as the cumulative number of cases top over the 9,000 mark.
Within the past six months of the year, a total of 69 persons have died from Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF), the most virulent form of the disease, the majority of those who have succumbed to it being school going children and pre-schoolers. Hospital authorities from the country’s premier Children’s Hospital, the Lady Ridgeway Hospital at Borella, have been reported as saying that between 1,000 to 1,500 children are being brought on a daily basis to the hospital with symptoms of dengue from all over the island. “This is because their parents are now more aware of the danger of treating them at home and delaying to bring them to hospital when the fever rises. At present both the Lady Ridgeway Hospital and Colombo National Hospital are full of patients suffering from dengue which is fast spreading in spite of our efforts to contain the disease and the doctors and nurses are working around the clock treating them,” a health source spokesman told The Nation.
The total cumulative number of cases as on June 23, 2011 was 9,083 as against 8,547 the previous day showing a jump of 436 suspected cases within just one day. This is also eight times more than the number of patients reported at the beginning of the year which was 910, according to the Government Epidemiology Unit (GEUs) statistics.
A breakdown of the cumulative number of dengue cases in the Regional Divisions of Health Services (RDHS), up to June 23, 2011, shows Colombo still in the lead of the dengue epidemic with 3,236 cases, and 1,218 cases from the Colombo Municipal area alone. However, although the actual number after confirmation is around 750 Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam, Chief Medical Officer, Colombo Municipal Council told The Nation.
The cumulative number of cases in over 16 districts have now exceeded the 100 mark, with at least two – Colombo (3,413) and Gampaha (1,113) exceeding the 1,000 mark. Batticaloa has the third highest (578) cases and Kalutara the fourth highest with 551. Ratnapura occupies the fifth slot with 400 cases.
Source: http://www.nation.lk/2011/06/26/news14.htm
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