Sri Lanka issues new guidelines to curb dengue, Chikungunya in schools

Colombo, June 9 (IANS) Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Education has issued instructions to prevent the spread of dengue and Chikungunya in schools across the country, local media reported.

According to the new instructions, school principals could face legal action if mosquito breeding sites are found on school premises during inspections.

The ministry on Sunday said that each school must develop and implement its programme to eliminate mosquito breeding sites while continuing educational activities without disruption.

The ministry has sent notices to principals of all public and government-approved private schools, heads of religious schools, deans of national colleges of education, and heads of other educational institutions and provincial offices to inform them about the new measures.

The ministry said there would be periodic inspections of schools, Xinhua news agency reported.

Dengue and Chikungunya cases are on the rise in Sri Lanka.

According to the World Health Organization, Dengue can range from asymptomatic infection or mild illness to severe disease. An estimated 1 in 4 dengue virus infections are symptomatic. Symptomatic dengue virus infection most commonly presents as a mild to moderate, acute febrile illness.

Infection with one of the four dengue viruses will induce long-lived immunity for that specific virus. Because there are four dengue viruses, people can be infected multiple times in their lives. Early clinical findings are nonspecific but require a high index of suspicion because recognising early signs of shock and promptly initiating intensive supportive therapy can reduce the risk of death among patients.

Symptoms include high fever, headache, rash and muscle and joint pain. It may also cause nausea and vomiting. In severe cases, there is serious bleeding and shock, which can be life-threatening.

Treatment includes symptom management, which might include fluids and pain relievers. Severe cases require hospital care.

Meanwhile, Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease that causes fever and severe joint pain. It is caused by a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that belongs to the alphavirus genus of the family Togaviridae. The name “chikungunya” derives from a word in the Kimakonde language of southern Tanzania, meaning “that which bends up” and describes the stooped appearance of infected people with severe joint pain (arthralgia).

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is transmitted to humans by the bites of infected female mosquitoes, most commonly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. These two species can also transmit other viruses, including dengue and Zika viruses. They bite primarily during daylight hours, and there may be peaks of activity in the early morning and late afternoon.

CHIKV was first identified in the United Republic of Tanzania in 1952 and subsequently in other countries in Africa and Asia. Urban outbreaks were first recorded in Asia in the 1970s, but since 2004, outbreaks of CHIKV have become more frequent and widespread.

The first local, mosquito-transmitted chikungunya cases in the Americas were reported in late 2013, after which large outbreaks occurred affecting most of the countries in the region. Chikungunya has now been reported in 110 countries in Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe.

–IANS

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