In a follow-up report on the severe dengue fever outbreak in Sri Lanka, health officials are reporting an surge in patients at hospitals in recent days, according to local media.

Image/CDC
Image/CDC

This is putting a larger strain on an already overburdened healthcare system.

‎Deputy Editor News Features at The Sunday Times, Kumudini Hettiarachchi reports that patients are “flocking into hospitals” and the need right now is to declare a health emergency with regard to dengue, pull out all stops and face this crisis head-on.

The latest data from the Sri Lanka Ministry of Health puts the dengue case count at 56,887, more than what was recorded in all of 2016. This includes approximately 30 dengue-related deaths per 10,000 cases.

Health authorities are advising the public on preventing mosquito bites and not taking Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin as this can worsen the disease because of the effects on platelets.

In a related story, Sri Lankan media reported the death of Bhikkhuni Shastravedi Kottawe Shantha Nanda due to dengue. She was an ordained female monastic in Buddhism.

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