The government should intervene to prevent and control the spread of dengue with the assistance of entomologies, Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) General Secretary Prof. Tissa Vitharana said.
“The eradication of dengue should be a collective responsibility of the government as well as that of the general public,” he said.
Addressing a media briefing held in Colombo yesterday Prof. Vitharana said dengue fever has become an epidemic in the country today.
“Around 59 schools in the Kinniya educational zone in Trincomalee have been closed for three days due to an outbreak of Dengue.
There is no specific treatment for dengue fever so far and the only way of curbing the disease is to destroy or prevent the spread of dengue mosquito breeding sites,” he said.
“We must focus on implementing sustainable solutions for this,”he said. Commenting on the SAITM issue, he said it is extremely important to note that all the requirements and standards stipulated by the SLMC or the UGC or any other relevant regulatory body should be applicable equally to all state and private sector medical schools.
It is unfair to force the SLMC to register SAITM students without upgrading its standards. There are certain attempts by various factors forcing SLMC to be registered its students without a criteria for the reason that a number of relatives and friends of politicians are studying at that institute,” Prof. Vitarana said.
“Creating a doctor should not be undermined as producing some item of goods and that this is a profession where responsibility should be undertaken as it something that is connected to the health of the masses in the country,” he said. Ven. Baddegama Samitha Thera said the entire health sector has been paralysed as there is a shortage of medicinal drugs in hospitals across the country.
“There is a severe shortage of drugs required to treat cancer patients at the Karapitiya Teaching hospital.
The relevant authorities must solve this problem,” the Thera said.