Possibility of infectious disease outbreaks ahead, PHI Union warns

With the ongoing flood situation in several parts of the country, there is a potential risk of an outbreak of infectious diseases in the coming days, the Public Health Inspector’s Union of Sri Lanka has warned.

The Secretary of the Union, Chamil Muthukuda noted that there is a serious risk of the spread of dengue, chikungunya and leptospirosis.

Expressing his views further, Secretary Chamil Muthukuda said:

“Due to the recent emergency disaster situation that affected the country, we in the health sector expect a possible risk of severe communicable diseases spreading in the coming days. Accordingly, there is a high risk of the spread of dengue, chikungunya, and leptospirosis. We also expect some increase in non-communicable disease conditions. Especially, the treatment of patients who receive care for diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer has now become disrupted. Their medication may have been lost due to the disaster situation. Therefore, we are paying special attention to these patients.”