Viral fever spreads in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 December 2006, 01:04 GMT]
More than 15,000 people in the Jaffna peninsula are suffering from Chikungunya viral fever but Panodol and Paracetamol, recommended by medical authorities, are not available in the open market due to the inability of the traders to transport these medications from Colombo for the last four months, said civil society sources in Jaffna.

The Valigamam area is badly affected and there are signs of the fever spreading fast into other areas of the peninsula, medical sources in Jaffna said.

Pandol and Paracetamol are being sold at ten to twelve times the normal market value, civil society sources said.

Medical authorities in the peninsula fear the epidermic will spread to Thenmaradchi, and to the islets of Jaffna in the next few days.

Dr. A. Keetheswaran, the Director of Public Health Services Jaffna district said though there is a stock of 800,000 Panodol tablets available for distribution in the 34 hospitals under his authority in the peninsula, the stock is insufficient to meet the needs of all the patients suffering from the fever.

Dr Ketheswaran said he expects a consignment of 8 hundred thousand panodol tablets in the next shipment to Jaffna.

The monsoon rains and rough seas may delay or prevent ships from reaching Jaffna, health officials said.