Pneumonia outbreak in China SL to launch contingency plan if situation aggravates

By Jamila Hussain 

Sri Lanka is closely monitoring a pneumonia outbreak in China and will activate a contingency plan at the airport if the situation worsens, the Health Ministry told  yesterday.

• The ministry will continue to monitor before implementing a contingency plan at the airport and local hospitals 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) last Sunday alerted the Health Ministry of a suspected pneumonia outbreak in the Wuhan Province of China. It said 44 cases of suspected pneumonia had been reported from the Wuhan  Province out of which 11 were severe and that relevant authorities were investigating the exact cause of the outbreak. 

However, Chinese authorities have stated that pneumonia cases were not out of the ordinary during severe winter but they launched a probe and a report was expected in a week.  
Sources said Sri Lankan health officials had been monitoring the situation for the past four days but since no cases were reported from the Wuhan  Province, the ministry would continue to monitor before implementing a contingency plan at the airport and local hospitals which would include screening passengers arriving from China. 

The Wuhan outbreak has sent alerts throughout Asia with stringent checks on passengers at airports and other transit points amid concerns over Sars and bird flu, which in previous outbreaks sickened thousands and killed hundreds, particularly in China and Hong  Kong. Airports in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Malaysia, Macau, Taiwan and South Korea have taken emergency measures including stricter health control at borders. 

In a statement issued last Sunday, the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection said it received a notification from the mainland’s National Health Commission on the latest information on Wuhan cases. 

“While causative pathogen and cause of infection are still under investigation, respiratory pathogens including influenza viruses, avian influenza viruses, adenovirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome [Sars] and Middle-East respiratory syndrome have been ruled out,” it said. 

Reports so far suggest pneumonia could be caused by a rare virus or a previously unknown one and identification may take up to one week.    

• Chinese authorities have stated that pneumonia cases were not out of the ordinary during severe winter but they launched a probe and a report was expected in a week