Southern influenza spreading to Embilipitiya?

Patients having symptoms similar to seasonal influenza spreading in the Southern Province have also been found in Embilipitiya, Director of Embilipitiya District General Hospital Dr. N.H. Dharmathilake yesterday said.

Dr. Dharmathilake told the Daily Mirror that around 20 to 30 patients having symptoms similar to those of seasonal influenza were taking treatments daily at the hospital for the past few weeks.

“No in-house patients are still reported with this disease. The situation is under control. However, this seasonal influenza like illness is found in some areas in Embilipitiya which are in the boundary of the Southern Province,” he said.

“No deaths have been reported due to seasonal influenza so far in Embilipitiya,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Anil Dissanayake told the Daily Mirror that seasonal influenza spreading in Southern Province could be expected to increase slightly in other areas too and added that however no such incidents had been reported so far.

Dr. Dissanayake advised people to take precautionary measures by practising good health habits including often hand-washing.

However, when the Daily Mirror inquired him of the number of deaths reported so far due to seasonal influenza in Southern Province, he said Epidemiology Unit would not provide media with such statistics. (Kalathma Jayawardhane)