Health emergency in Mannar as virus fever spreads

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 November 2006, 17:14 GMT]
A virus fever is spreading fast in Mannar district and daily hundreds of persons affected by the fever are seeking treatment in the Mannar general hospital and private medical institutions, health officials in Mannar said. Mannar General hospital is overflowing with the large influx of affected civilians, hospital sources said.

Mannar hospital authorities are working round the clock to provide treatment to these patients with limited resources. However about twenty patients are admitted daily to the wards in the hospital.

The mysterious virus fever first originated from the village Pallimunai has now spread to all parts of the district including the LTTE held villages, civil sources said.

Dispensaries in LTTE held villages experience acute shortage of drugs and related medical facilities due to the restriction in transporting medicines from government controlled areas, sources said.

Medical officers in Mannar general hospital have taken steps to sent blood samples of ten patients in a special vehicle to Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Colombo to identify the details of the virus, sources said.

Medical sources speculated that refugees who returned to Mannar from South India recently may have brought the new virus to Mannar area, sources said.