Action on Leishmaniasis

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry will take action to eradicate Leishmaniasis before it hits the dry zone in July. Leishmaniasis is a type of fever that hits the dry zone of Sri Lanka every year from July to September. It is caused by a small tick living in the sand, a Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry spokesman said.

According to the spokesman in some years schools were closed due to this fever. Areas such as Matara, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Moneragala and many other districts in the dry zone was hit by Leishmaniasis during the period between July and September every year. People in different areas call different names to describe this disease.

Dum dum fever and Black Fever are two of them. The symptoms of leishmaniasis are high fever, headache, body pain, cough, weight loss, mucus ulcers, fatigue etc. Skin sores erupt either within weeks or months after the person is bitten by sand flies. Other consequences, which can become manifest anywhere from a few months to years after infection are damage to the spleen and liver, and anemia.

They handed over their report to the Healthcare and Nutrition Minister yesterday.

The Ministry will make arrangements to implement the recommendations included in the report before July, he added.