Sri Lanka has made remarkable progress in disease elimination and has already eliminated several communicable diseases such as polio, diphtheria, neonatal tetanus and whooping cough from the country.
Currently, the National Immunization Programme vaccinates the population against 13 fatal diseases. The excellent communicable disease surveillance system and the wide coverage of the National Immunization Programme assisted the country to control communicable diseases successfully, Health Ministry sources said.
The last neonatal tetanus patient was reported in Sri Lanka in 2010, and the last polio patient in 1993. The last diphtheria patient was reported in the country in 1991. In addition, some other diseases such as Japanese encephalitis and hepatitis B are rarely reported in Sri Lanka.
The life expectancy of Sri Lankans has improved significantly. In the 1940s, the life expectancy of Sri Lankans was 40 to 50 years, but today a Sri Lankan man lives an average of 72 years, while a woman lives nearly 78 years, Health Ministry sources said.
Out of the nine countries in the Region, where lymphatic filariasis (LF) is endemic, the Maldives and Sri Lanka have eliminated the disease, concerning that as a public health problem, the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia announced recently.
The WHO recognised Sri Lanka as one of the countries in the world which eliminated rubella and a certificate was awarded to Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne by WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh in India, during the 72nd Session of the Regional Committee.
Sri Lanka eliminated malaria in 2016, and the WHO certified Sri Lanka as a malaria-free country. However, Sri Lanka is constantly at risk of the disease returning due to a large number of people travelling to and from countries where it is prevalent and due to the presence of mosquitoes carrying the disease.
In each year, around 50 cases of malaria are reported in various parts of the country, of such travelers. If these cases of imported malaria are not detected and treated promptly, there is an enormous risk of a malaria epidemic occurring again in Sri Lanka. There were 41 and 57 imported malaria cases in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Sri Lankans travelling to India, Madagascar and Mozambique and military personnel returning from UN Peace-keeping missions in the African region and the returnees from South India resettling in the North-East are at high risk of spreading the disease in Sri Lanka. Foreigners and workers arriving from malaria-endemic countries, including refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Myanmar, are also at risk of spreading malaria in Sri Lanka.
Although Sri Lanka eliminated leprosy as a public health problem (defined as less than one registered case per 10,000 population) in 1995, nearly 1,807 leprosy patients were detected in Sri Lanka in 2017, of which, 754 (42 percent) patients were from the Western Province. There were 9.6 percent of child leprosy patients (i.e., less than 15 years) among the 1,807 patients detected in 2017. In 2016 and 2015, 1,973 and 2,098 leprosy patients were detected in Sri Lanka, respectively.
The highest number of leprosy patients (243) was detected in the Colombo district in 2017. Patients were reported in all 25 districts of the country. Around 2,000 new leprosy patients were detected every year during the last decade. Nearly 31 percent of new patients were diagnosed late, more than six months after the appearance of symptoms, indicating a lack of awareness in the public.
There are few patients who have been cured who are still in hospitals as hospital authorities are unable to contact their families or guardians.
Japanese encephalitis became an epidemic in Sri Lanka in 1986. Now it has been eliminated from Sri Lanka.
The National Immunization Programme of the Epidemiology Unit, under the purview of the Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Ministry, provides the vaccine against Japanese encephalitis at PHI and MOH offices.
Adults and children of any age can obtain this vaccine free. The vaccine is given to children who are one-year-old and above. The symptoms of the disease are fever, headache and malaise. Other non-specific symptoms of this disease may last for a period of one to six days. Signs which develop during the acute encephalitic stage include neck rigidity, cachexia, hemiparesis, convulsions and body temperature from 38 – 41 °C (100.4 – 105.8 °F). Mental retardation also usually results.
Sri Lanka expects to eliminate communicable diseases such as measles and rubella by 2020. The WHO expects to eliminate tuberculosis from the world by 2030, and Sri Lanka expects to reach this goal long before that.
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Malaria
Anti-Malaria drugs should be taken one week prior to travelling to high-risk countries and precautions against mosquito bites must be taken while in those countries. If a person falls ill, especially has fever, after returning to Sri Lanka, it is necessary to test for malaria.
Anti-Malaria Campaign contact numbers: 011 7626626 (hotline), 011 2588408, 011 2368173 and 011 2368174.
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Measles
Measles is a contagious respiratory infection. It causes skin rash and flu-like symptoms. In rare cases, it can be fatal. Koplik spots around the mouth of a patient is an early sign of measles. Three to five days after symptoms occur, a rash may break out. It usually begins as flat, red spots on the face, and spreads downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet. Someone exposed to the virus usually manifests symptoms 7–14 days later. People with measles could spread the disease four days before the rash appears and until about four days after that.
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Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections do not manifest symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. If this occurs in the lungs, the bacteria can actually create a hole in the lungs. The symptoms are fever, unexplained weight loss, night sweats or a persistent cough. Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that spread from person to person through microscopic droplets released into the air. This can happen when someone with the untreated, active form of tuberculosis coughs, speaks, sneezes, spits, laughs or sings.
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Rubella
Rubella is an acute, contagious viral infection. While the rubella virus usually causes mild fever and rash in children and adults, infection during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester, can result in miscarriage, fetal death, stillbirth, or babies with congenital malformations, known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). The rubella virus is transmitted by airborne droplets when infected people sneeze or cough. Humans are the only known host. There is no specific treatment for rubella, but the disease is preventable through vaccination.
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