'Minimise foreign trips to prevent swine flu'

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

The Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry requested the public to minimise foreign trips to prevent swine flu entering Sri Lanka. Travelling to foreign countries should be limited to only for urgent needs, a Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry spokesman said. The Ministry has alerted the Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo harbour and all other relevant institutions. A Thermal Scan will also be placed at the airport to detect passengers with fever, the spokesman said.

He said the Ministry has deployed a special investigating team at the airport and at the harbour to monitor and investigate passengers arriving from Mexico, US, UK, Spain, New Zealand, Canada and other affected countries. Suspected passengers will be directed to the Epidemiology Unit for further examination and confirmation and clearance.

According to the spokesman, the Ministry has provided facilities to carry out medical tests, relevant drugs and medical equipment to all hospitals to face a possible outbreak. Arrangements have also been made to raise awareness in the public and especially among health staff through leaflets. A special team from the Ministry Epidemiology Unit will visit the airport and harbour to monitor whether the special teams assigned for monitoring carry out the task properly.

Swine Flu (a new strain of Influenza A H1N1) can spread among human beings easily and quickly. Symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of influenza and of influenza like illness in general. Symptoms include fever, cough, difficulty in breathing, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. The symptoms can become serious and develop to pneumonia or infection in lungs which can be fatal. The disease spreads like any other ordinary flu. The 2009 outbreak has shown an increased percentage of patients reporting diarrhoea and vomiting, he said.

No epidemic hit Sri Lanka because of the well-maintained surveillance mechanism and high quality healthcare service of the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned about a possibility of swine flu becoming a Global threat.

The swine flu outbreak that hit Mexico last week killed nearly 200 people and infected possibly hundreds more.