By Dilanthi Jayamanne
The highest number of dengue cases in the country, from January to December, has been reported from the Western Province. Health Ministry sources said that 72 percent of the dengue cases were reported from the Colombo and Gampaha Districts.
Sources said that the total number of dengue cases reported this year was over 24,700 while the number of deaths reported from the beginning of January to the second week of December was 167. He said that sixty percent of the cases reported from Colombo and Gampaha were of residents, while 12 percent of them were those who had visited the two districts from outstation areas for business purposes and contacted the virus.
Sources said that last year the situation had been similar in the Colombo and Gampaha Districts where 5,942 and 3,957 cases were reported respectively. The highest number of dengue deaths 58 and 34 were also reported from these two districts respectively. The total number of dengue cases recorded that year was over 34,100.
Such large numbers had been reported from the two districts owing to the large population living in them. A majority of people also did not observe precautionary instructions given to them by the Ministry or local governments. Disorganised garbage disposal practices of local governments in the two districts had also contributed to the breeding of mosquitoes.
He said that the number of dengue victims would have been reduced by 50 percent if the Ministry and local authorities were able to arrest it in the Western province.
However, observing the success of the house to house campaign carried out in Eravur recently, the Ministry had decided to launch a house to house mosquito breeding control programme in the Western Province – especially in Colombo and Gampaha.
He said that discussions were underway to implement the programme. The Ministry hoped to get the participation of the Police, public health inspectors and volunteers, the spokesman added.
Meanwhile, the Chief of the CMC Public Health Department, Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam said that the garbage disposal within Colombo city limits was methodical. However, people failed to keep their premises clean by accumulating the garbage there as they fear to place them on the roadside.
He said that in 2008 the number of dengue patients reported from proper housing areas and informal housing areas had been equal, 50–50 percent. The present trends showed that a majority of dengue patients were reported from government hospitals (2,555 from January till second week of December) depicting that a majority of them were from low income families while 574 were reported from private hospitals.
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