Two more swine flu victims

BIA Thermal Scanners functioning:

Chaminda PERERA and Nadira GUNATILLEKE

Two more children were confirmed swine flu victims by health authorities yesterday. These two children are said to be the relatives of the first victim who arrived in the island from Australia on June 14 to attend a family function.

According to Epidemiological Department sources, there is no need to panic over this situation as all precautions have been taken by the Ministry to prevent such kind of influenza spreading in the country. The victims were despatched to the Infectious Diseases Hospital at Mulleriyawa.

Officials confirmed that this influenza is not lethal though it is speedily contagious . They said the adverse media campaign has affected the victims and their family members badly.

"We have reported certain incidents where villagers have sidelined the relatives of victims who have not shown any symptoms of swine flue. The people should not unnecessarily be afraid of this situation as drugs are available to combat this disease," they said.

Meanwhile. both Thermal Scanners at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) Colombo are functioning, contrary to media reports which said they were out of order, a spokesman at the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry said. He also said State Hospitals have drugs to treat 36,000 Swine Flu patients at the moment.

The Ministry installed two thermal scanners when the Swine Flu outbreak was reported from Mexico. Both scanners function properly. At the time of their installation, the Ministry appointed a special engineer to the Colombo International Airport to monitor the thermal scanners and to carry out maintenance and repairs. It has been made compulsory for all passengers and crews to go through the scanners.

The scanners detect only persons with high body temperature and not persons infected with Swine Flu. Some persons can be infected without fever and such persons cannot be detected by the thermal scanners. The first child developed symptoms when he was at home. He came to Sri Lanka through thermal scanners installed in Singapore and Sri Lanka, it was not detected because he did not have fever at that time.

The special health unit set up at the Colombo International Airport has a doctor and more than 10 PHIs at a time and a new team takes over the shift every six hours. The Negombo hospital provides staff to this unit. The Ministry requests the public not to be misled by inaccurate 'news'.

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No connection to pigs

Ishara MUDUGAMUWA

Though this disease is named as swine flu, pig flu and hog flu, there is no connection with pigs and the flu, Livestock Development Ministry Director General H.M.S.P. Herath said.