• Doctors surveilling patients esp. in susceptible areas

Pregnant women should receive special attention when it comes to critical influenza-related complications, and the health authorities have officially issued instructions to refer suspected pregnant influenza patients to hospitals with specialist doctors for treatment, the Health Ministry’s Epidemiology Unit said.

The unit’s community medicine specialist Dr. Chinthana Perera noted this during a press briefing held by the ministry’s Health Promotion Bureau, where the steps taken by Sri Lanka to monitor, detect, prevent, and treat influenza-related health issues were discussed in light of prevailing global respiratory illness-related concerns. According to Dr. Perera, the other at-risk groups include children below the age of five, adults above the age of 65, those living with chronic illnesses including those related to the lungs, heart, liver, and kidneys, those living with neurological illnesses, and those with weakened immune systems including cancer patients. 

Dr. Perera explained that the health authorities are surveilling out-patients and in-ward patients at selected hospitals, especially those located in areas identified to be more susceptible to influenza, in order to identify those that could be influenza patients. The latest data presented by him showed that while 5% of out-patients in those hospitals have shown influenza symptoms, around 3.8% of in-ward patients have shown similar symptoms. Noting that such symptoms generally increase in November, December, and January and that similar trends have been noticed over the years, he explained that an increase of the same could be expected in January.

It was recommended that people maintain personal hygiene, rest upon the detection of symptoms, and seek medical assistance as early as possible to prevent complications.