Dengue fever spreads unchecked in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 January 2010, 07:49 GMT]
Dengue fever which has claimed the lives of 15 persons, including 13 children under thirteen, within the limits of Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) is spreading fast and unchecked due to negligence of JMC authorities, according to Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) sources. A 7-month-old child died due to dengue fever Thursday in Nalloor, the sources said.

308 persons were admitted to JTC with dengue fever in December while 350 more had been admitted in January alone.

Cases of dengue had been identified in Nalloor, Cha’ndilippaay, Uduththu’rai, Koa’ndaavil and Changkaanai.

No information is available on cases of dengue fever in Vadamaraadchi and Thenmaraadchi.

Divisional Director of Health Services, Dr. N. Ketheeswaran, said that preventive measures in three stages is to be taken to contain the spread of dengue fever with the assistance of the Ministry of Health.