Special Task Force for respiratory disease prevention

The Health Ministry has identified the importance of establishing a Special Task Force for the prevention of respiratory diseases Deputy Health Minister Lalith Dissanayake said yesterday .

He said that the ministry will implement a mechanism to promote in treating asthma. The deputy minister was speaking at a ceremony organized by the National Chest and Respiratory Diseases Prevention Program to mark the World Asthma Day at the BMICH yesterday.

He said that this task force would be set up after having discussion with the ministry officials and the experts in the field soon. The deputy minister said that the patients can lead a normal life if they receive treatments properly.

"There are misconceptions over asthma related diseases and an awareness campaign will help dispel these misconceptions," he said. Surveys have found that there are more than 300 million people with asthma around the world and Sri Lanka has more than one million asthma cases.

Over 25 per cent of them are children while more than 10 per cent of adults are suffering from asthma. The deputy minister said that the patients should not worry over asthma as the country's health sector has very advanced and high quality drugs to treat asthma. The officials of the Chest and Respiratory Disease Prevention Program and specialist doctors and policy makers also participated in the ceremony.