2 November 2021 05:50 am Views - 1240
There seems to be no respite for Sri Lanka despite a slight dip in COVID pandemic, as the country witnesses a dramatic spike in dengue cases, with over 120 cases reported yesterday (01) alone.
Speaking to Daily Mirror, Dr. Nimalka Pannila Hetti, Consultant Community Physician at the National Dengue Control Unit said that people need to be alert as symptoms of fever, chills, muscle pain etc., which could be similar to COVID.
"It is highly recommended seeking medical advice if such symptoms appear, without making own conclusions" she stressed.
She also requested people to be cautious as dengue cases could continue to rise in future as well.
When analyzing the dengue data on the National Dengue Control Unit, some 22,520 cases have been reported so far since January this year, while 2,979 cases were reported in the month of October alone.
The highest number of cases of 7,346 has been reported from the Colombo District, while 32 infections were reported yesterday alone (Nov. 1).
The Western Province recorded a total number of 12,317 dengue cases so far, which is the highest among the provinces.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror observed a sharp difference between the statistics on dengue cases in the Epidemiology Unit and National Dengue Control Unit of the Health Ministry (NDCU).
The NDCU has recorded the total number of Dengue patients at 22,520 , while the Epidemiology Unit gave the figure as 15,248 as of last afternoon. This shows that there is a considerable gap of 7,272 between the two.
The Health authorities requested people to be cautious as dengue cases would continue to rise in future as well. (Sheain Fernandopulle)