Negombo Worst hit tourist city!

It’s visible that the city worst hit by dengue in the country is Negombo. Director General Health Services of Western Province Dr. Ahemed Fareed told Daily Mirror  that plans have already been carried out by the health authority to initiate new programs and control the spread of dengue in the Western Province, especially in Negombo. 

Dr. Fareed said that the health authority has deployed 50 labourers to Negombo and 40 to Colombo to clean up drains and assist hospital staff. At the same time, we have established new dengue control units in the Western Province.   

At the same time, unless we get used to dumping dirt at appropriate places, we might not care much about dumping garbage at allocated places

     Dr. Ahemed Fareed    

‘The current situation is pathetic’- Dr. Ahemed Fareed  

“Most number of cases has been reported in May and June due to the inclement weather condition experienced from April till the end of May. It’s clear that rain has been one of the core reasons for the rapid prevalence of the dengue infection. Apart from the consequences of rain, the garbage issue also has made a massive impact on the spread of dengue. When the garbage disposal process isn’t carried out properly, the larvae of dengue can survive with ease. It’s we who set the background for the mosquitoes to greed their grounds as we lack concern regarding the disposal and segregating of muck collected in our houses. At the same time, unless we get used to dumping dirt at appropriate places, we might not care much about dumping garbage at allocated places. If you don’t pay attention to this matter, you will have to face the consequences. Therefore, it’s really essential to be mindful and take precautions, so that the prevailing situation of dengue doesn’t worsen,” he added.   
The current situation of dengue is indeed pathetic, when we examine the latest updates regarding patients. The Epidemiology Unit told Daily Mirror that there have been 103,114suspected dengue cases reported since 2017 from all over the country. Out of this figure 275 deaths have been reported so far. Approximately 43.67% of dengue cases were reported from the Western Province.   
The Western Province has recorded 45,030 cases so far this year, the most number of cases when considering all provinces. Consultant community physician at the National Dengue Control Unit, Dr Preshila Samaraweera told Daily Mirror that the main reasons for this are the huge piles of garbage which have been rotting for weeks along with drains not being cleaned.   

Colombo statistics bloated unnecessarily  

“A number of hospitals are loaded with dengue patients, especially the Negombo Base Hospital because the area is now under the spotlight for dengue. Although a substantial number of cases has been reported from Colombo, Negombo is deemed to be the city most severely affected by dengue. The reason for this is because when most of the people from rural areas come to Colombo to take treatment for dengue, these statistics are added to the list of patients in Colombo. That’s why the number of dengue cases is considerably high in Colombo,” she said.  

With the rapid increase of dengue patients, we will be granted two temporary additional wards which are being built for the in-house dengue patients

  Dr Preshila Samaraweera  

Meanwhile, there has been congestion in some hospitals especially in the Negombo Base Hospital. This is due to the inadequacy of beds in relation to the number of in-house patients at the hospital, the Director of Negombo Base Hospital Nilanthi Pathirana told Daily Mirror.

“There are nearly 4,500 patients and 12 deaths have been reported so far from the Negombo Hospital. Although, there are nearly 800 dengue in- house patients now in the Hospital, the beds remaining are only 569. The following information illustrates the number of cases reported since January 2017 in Negombo,” she said.  

"There are nearly 4,500 patients and 12 deaths have been reported so far from the Negombo Hospital"

Jan -123, Feb - 95, March - 129, April - 218, May – 467, June – 1884 and July-934  
She mentioned that the issue has emerged following the ongoing construction of the main building of the hospital which will be completed soon. She nevertheless stated that the situation seems to be under control as the Out Patient Department (OPD) is sufficiently geared to treat a considerable number of dengue patients.   

“With the rapid increase of dengue patients, we will be granted two temporary additional wards which are being built for the in-house dengue patients. This is an initiative of the Army present at the Negombo Hospital premises. When the President paid a sudden visit to the hospital, he had noticed that the institute lacks sufficient facilities to accommodate in- house patients. The President had then instructed the current Chief of Defence Staff and former Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, Crishanthe De Silva to look into the matter and take necessary measures. Even though there is a problem at present for patients to find accommodation, we try our level best to mitigate the inconvenience caused and supply a possible service to the people,” she added.  

 Confidential sources revealed that10 doctors and 20 staff members of the Negombo Hospital have been affected by dengue. Besides, this situation depicts the real gravity of dengue in Negombo city. However, when we contacted Dr. Lakkumar Fernando and inquired about this situation, he totally denied these facts. He said that there are only 3 doctors who were affected by dengue. Director General of Health Services of Western Province Dr. Ahemed Fareed also said that a lesser number of doctors and staff members suffer from dengue, both in Negombo as well as other regions.  
 The following table denotes the number of patients reported month wise in 2017.