Accidents kill more than dengue - minister

Ridma DISSANAYAKE

Dengue has not reached epidemic levels or high proportions as claimed by some sections of the media and society, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said. “The Health Ministry is implementing a continuous programme to combat dengue. As a result, there is a significant drop in the spread of dengue,” he said.

The minister said the number of deaths reported due to accidents and Non Communicable Diseases (NCD) is higher than deaths caused by dengue. The minister said 74 persons had died due to dengue during the past six months.

“But at least five die daily due to road accidents and NCDs. Over 2,000 road accidents are reported annually and over Rs100,000 have to be paid for a day’s treatment of a patient injured critically in a road accident,” he said. There is a decline in the percentage of dengue related deaths compared to those in the past few years as a result of the dengue combat programme launched by the Health Ministry. The number of dengue patients in hospitals is also low, the minister said. He said dengue is not confined only to Sri Lanka. “It has become a serious problem in all tropical and neighbouring countries. Everybody should support the ministry’s programme to combat dengue,” he said.

The Health Ministry is conducting its dengue prevention campaign in Sri Lanka successfully and provided special training for doctors and nurses to treat dengue patients, the minister said. Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of dengue due to the successful programme implemented by the government. The statements like ‘Dengue has reached an epidemic level’ and ‘Dengue has reached high proportions’ are myths created by certain media, he said.