brand logo

Health experts warn about simultaneous dengue and Covid waves

20 Dec 2021

By Buddhika Samaraweera Pointing out that the spread of the dengue epidemic is on the rise at present, health experts have warned that if the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the dengue epidemic increased at the same time, the hospital system would find it difficult to cope. Joining the Ada Derana Big Focus programme yesterday (19), Senior Prof. Arjuna De Silva stated that dengue is now spreading largely in a background where much attention has been paid to the Covid-19 pandemic situation. “A large number of dengue patients are currently being treated in hospitals. If the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the dengue epidemic increased at the same time, the hospital system would find it difficult to cope,” he said. Speaking further, Prof. De Silva said that even though several vaccines for Covid-19 have been developed, the vaccines for dengue are still being tested due to the fact that western countries are not affected by the dengue epidemic. He also said that many people were now paying attention to Covid-19, adding that if a person contracted a fever, it would be somewhat difficult to identify if it was caused by Covid-19 or dengue. Therefore, he urged that the people maintain the premises in a way that dengue does not spread. According to the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health, a total of 18,280 dengue patients have been reported so far this year. The highest number of patients is 5,415 from the Colombo District while the second highest number of patients is 3,074 from the Batticaloa District. In addition, 2,211 patients have been reported from the Gampaha District, 1,366 patients from the Kalutara District, and 1,028 patients from the Trincomalee District. Less than 1,000 patients have been reported from other districts, each.


More News..