On the road to eliminate malaria in Sri Lanka: lessons.
The risk of contracting malaria and other mosquito-borne infectious diseases is reduced through the use of preventative measures to avoid getting bitten by mosquitos. The most effective products contain DEET. Malaria-carrying mosquitos are most active in the evening, night and early hours of the morning.
The Epidemiology Unit was established in 1959 with assistance from World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen surveillance of communicable diseases. Initially, the unit functioned with a WHO consultant and a national counterpart, who, after further training in epidemiology, was appointed in 1961, as the Epidemiologist of the Department of Health Services.
In 2017, Sri Lanka suffered an outbreak of Dengue that took 320 lives, with 186,101 cases having been reported. According to the WHO, it was significantly higher than the average number of cases.
Dengue may be misdiagnosed as other illnesses: such as influenza, typhoid, zika or malaria. A dengue infection does not protect you from future infection because there are four dengue viruses. In many cases, the second time you get dengue, the symptoms are more severe.
Dengue is one of the major hurdles to the public health in Sri Lanka, causing high morbidity and mortality. The present study focuses on the use of geographical information systems (GIS) to map and evaluate the spatial and temporal distribution of dengue in Sri Lanka from 2009 to 2014 and to elucidate the association of climatic factors with dengue incidence.
As many as 100,212 Sri Lankans were victimized by the dengue menace last year, according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Health’s Epidemiology Unit. The number certainly has risen.
Latest travel advice for Sri Lanka, including how to stay safe during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and information on returning to the UK.