Disease kills 27
TWENTY SEVEN people died of a mysterious illness in Jaffna peninsula in December. More than 2,000 people were admitted to hospitals for treatment. Deaths were also reported in other parts of the island giving rise to fears of an epidemic. A three-member team from Colombo’s Health Services Ministry, led by Dr L Silva visited Jaffna on 31 December to assess the situation. The new threat is a challenge to the health services in north-east Sri Lanka, which have suffered in the past years by the economic blockade imposed by successive Sri Lankan governments in order to bring pressure on the LTTE. Dr N Sivarajah of Jaffna University’s Department of Community Medicine says that despite the peace process, health services have not improved and often patients have to wait long periods for treatment. Several hospitals are closed or functioning intermittently. The Moolai hospital in Jaffna peninsula was built with British assistance, but is unable to function because of lack of furniture and equipment. There is an acute shortage of health staff, including doctors. Many hospitals have no specialists. Some 82% vacancies exist for consultant doctors and 23% for medical officers. There are 525 vacancies for nurses, which represents nearly 50% of the total number of nurses needed in the north-east. Some hospitals are expected to serve large areas because of lack of personnel or damage to other hospitals.
Poor sanitary facilities are leading to spread of water and food borne diseases. Disease prevention has not improved sufficiently and there is an urgent need for prevention and other training. Around 600 midwives are needed, but Dr Sivarajah says that government is prepared to recruit only 200 and has also introduced new regulations requiring higher qualifications for recruitment of midwives.
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