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Sri Lanka on brink of quadrennial dengue wave

23 Dec 2021

  • NHSL Specialist Consultant notes 10 dengue patients in single ward
BY Pamodi Waravita National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL), Colombo Specialist Consultant Dr. Upul Dissanayake said yesterday (22) that he believes that Sri Lanka is on the brink of another large dengue wave and therefore emphasised good preventive health practices in everyday life. “We have had continuous rains for a few weeks, and there was also no special focus on dengue prevention this year due to Covid-19. Every four years, Sri Lanka experiences a big dengue wave. The last such wave was in 2017. I believe that we are at the beginning of the next big wave. In the NHSL, there are about 10 dengue patients in one ward at the moment,” said Dr. Dissanayake at a press conference held yesterday at the Health Promotion Bureau (HPB). He added that 30-50% of those admitted patients experience dengue haemorrhagic fever. Furthermore, Dr. Dissanayake said that the majority of those who experience fever these days do so due to having dengue or Covid-19. “Thus, it is good to be aware of both of them. Back pain, headache, fever, pain under the eyes, and bone pain are all symptoms of the dengue virus. However, they are also symptoms of Covid-19. Thus, to check whether it is dengue, the full blood count (FBC) test and the non structural protein one (NS1) antigen test must be done.” However, he said that indicators of dengue might not be present in the FBC test during the first two days of the virus and recommended therefore that a FBC test be done every three days until recovery from the virus. “The NS1 antigen test could still be negative sometimes, even if you are infected with the dengue virus, as especially in those who contract dengue for the second time, the NS1 antigen test indicates a false negative – almost 62% of the time,” he warned. He urged the public to “not stay at home until the blood count falls” and to seek medical attention in a timely manner. “Rest and fluids are recommended to all patients. Adult patients should consume at least 2,500 millilitres of fluids a day while children should consume fluids as per the advice of their doctors. Other than the blood tests, patients must enter the hospital if they cannot eat and experience nausea or a pain on the right side of their stomach. Cleanliness of the environment is important to prevent dengue – it cannot just be prevented by mosquito coils and nets.”


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