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Over 100 beds at Lady Ridgeway occupied 

26 Aug 2021

  • Seven children in ICU
BY Pamodi Waravita  A total of seven children are currently receiving Intensive Care Unit (ICU)-based treatment at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children (LRH) for Covid-19 while over 100 beds at the hospital are filled with children infected with the virus.  “A total of seven ICU beds are currently occupied, where four children are receiving treatment for Covid-19-related pneumonia and three are receiving treatment for the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome In Children (MIS-C) which is temporally associated with Covid-19,” stated LRH Consultant Paediatric Intensivist (critical care physician) Dr. Nalin Kithulwatta.  According to the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians website, MIS-C is a Covid-19-related disease which can affect multiple bodily systems of anyone between the ages of one and 19 years. Dr. Kithulwatta explained to The Morning, however, that it is more commonly observed in children between the ages of eight and 15 years.  The symptoms that parents should be more vigilant about and watch out for are vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, conjunctivitis, and skin rash.  “When you say ‘multi systems’, it means that this disease affects many systems in the body, including the heart, kidneys, liver, skin, and eyes. The most serious case is when it affects the heart which could cause blood pressure to drop, even leading to death.”  He added that approximately 100 beds at the LRH are currently occupied by Covid-19 patients, and that a new ward has been dedicated this week to the treatment of those who contract the disease. The LRH last month opened two new Covid-19 wards as well, in order to cope with the increasing numbers of children infected with the virus.  “We assume that the rising number of patients is related to the Covid-19 Delta (B.1.617.2) variant of Indian origin. Earlier, with the Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant of UK origin, most children who were infected were asymptomatic,” noted Dr. Kithulwatta.  According to him, parents of infants must also monitor symptoms such as any reluctance to feed, any impact on urination, and any difficulty in breathing, in order to ensure that their infants have not contracted the virus.  The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that the Delta variant is at least two times as transmissible as the original virus. Sri Lanka is currently facing a severe spread of the Delta variant in all districts. The Health Promotion Bureau (HPB) said that 4,483 new cases and 198 deaths were reported on 25 August due to the virus. 


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