A series of awareness  programmes and a nationwide campaign is being conducted through the electronic and print media to educate the public regarding the killer disease called “dengue”. Many heartrending incidents of children being snatched away by this deadly disease and pictures of wailing parents  over the untimely death of their loved children are also spotted in the print and electronic media.  This is the reality of the dengue menace.   The mechanism in operation at present is considered inadequate  to totally eradicate this menace as mosquito breeding is something that is unfortunately very hard to curb no matter how much you try.  In such a situation it is the bounded duty of everyone to take  all precautionary measures to keep this dengue menace at bay.  it is the shared social responsibility.

Mosquitoes are finding their comfortable places and are creeping into the lives of mostly the vulnerable children and adults causing havoc in their lives and unfortunately when this happens they become victims.  You have no other alternative but to be strong and learn about dengue prevention.   The annual death due to this killer disease is said to be very high.  This disease is highly prevalent in the Colombo District.  Lack of knowledge or failure to care for the victims from the very first day of fever can be dangerous as care from the beginning of this illness is very important for a satisfactory recovery.

Nawaloka Hospital has proved its tremendous potential for the successful management of dengue.  For example, during March and April more than 100 dengue positive patients were admitted to Nawaloka and they recovered completely without any serious complications or deaths.  Being the leading hospital in Sri Lanka, Nawaloka is constantly upgrading all its infrastructure facilities and introducing modern technology and equipment to cater to any serious situation.  This has helped patients to obtain their much needed medication from Nawaloka without having to travel abroad for treatment at a colossal cost.

As far as dengue management is concerned, Nawaloka has all the necessary facilities.  It is well equipped to  carry out the Dengue NS1 Antigen Test on day one of the fever to detect whether it is dengue.  Nawaloka has doctors with proven knowledge and experience of dengue management and they are fully committed to the cause.  A considerable number of dengue infected  patients  reach the haemorrhagic  stage (bleeding tendency).  Managing fluid intake and output as well as  maintaining  a fluid balance is a very essential aspect at this juncture.   Nawaloka Hospital has got  fully qualified Medical Officers and well trained Nursing staff to handle this function very effectively.  During the haemorrhagic  period the patient needs very good care and rest.  Nawaloka Hospital is geared to provide all these facilities.  Thus it has become the centre for management of dengue where it prevents patients from serious complications.

The fears and doubts created in the minds of the public whether dengue patients could be treated satisfactorily could now be allayed  if the public  has  complete  faith and trust in Nawaloka Hospital as  it has taken all steps to set up a separate and  dedicated “Dengue Unit”  which is now in full operation.  This unit is handled by a team of highly qualified Physicians and well trained Nursing and other caring staff who are  engaged on a 24 hour personalized service.  Similarly, in this special Dengue Unit, all beds are fully equipped with necessary bedside  monitoring devices and the team is  able to handle any medical emergency situation that arises.