Pneumonia report to be submitted soon

Lakmini Rodrigo

COLOMBO: A report on the mysterious pneumonia disease detected in the Galle district is expected to be submitted to Health authorities soon, Health Services Director General Dr. Athula Kahandaliyanage told the Daily News yesterday.

Following a directive issued by Health and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva all steps would be taken to identify the mysterious organism causing the deadly disease, he added.

Dr. Kahandaliyanage said the Minister had made this request to the authorities to facilitate immediate action to control the spread of the disease.

Pneumonia struck Galle district in early April and panic rose among the public after some deaths linked to the disease were reported while the organism causing the disease remained unidentified.

Dr. Kahandaliyanage pointed out that two groups of investigators were dispatched to the area immediately after the deaths were reported and that these groups were collecting specimens from the suspected patients and sending them to the Medical Research Institute (MRI) for examination and identification of the organism.

The number of deaths due to the disease in the Teaching Hospital Karapitiya was only five and the public had no reason to panic, Hospital Director Dr. P.K. Wijewickrama said denying reports that six deaths had occurred.

He added that the total number of patients reported were 11, and that out of the six suspected patients, four had been discharged after being successfully treated.

Dr. Wijewickrama added that the condition of the two remaining patients' was not serious and that they were recovering.

Meanwhile Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe said the afflicted patients had come from various areas of the Galle district and that except for a single case where a dead patient's spouse had contracted the disease, none of the other patients was related .

He assured that the public had no reason to fear and that the spread of the disease was minimal at the moment.