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Pandamic A/H1N1 2009 Influenza
 

Latest information on the global spread of the outbreak is available at,

http://www.searo.who.int/en/section10/section2562.htm

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/updates/en/index.html

How the H1N1 Virus works

The first confirmed case of Novel Influenza A/H1N1 (formerly known as Swine Influenza) was reported from Sri Lanka on 16th June 2009. One hundred and ten (110) cases were reported by 15th october 2009 and sustained community transmision was established in the country by 16th october.

Further References :

1. Alert sent to Sentinel Hospitals.( 17th June )
2. Request Form and Guidelines for sample collection from MRI.
3.General circulars on pandemic influenza preparedness

* Guidelines for the preparedness and response to an Avian Influenza pandemic threat
( No 02-164-2005 )
* Joint circular on guidelines on collection and transport of specimens
( No 01-19-2006 )

Activities Initiated in Sri Lanka at the onset of the global outbreak

  • A Fact sheet (English pdf),(Sinhala pdf) has been prepared and distributed to all government and private health institutions, provincial and regional directors of health, regional epidemiologists, medical officers/maternal & child health and medical officers of health
  • A health alert has been sent to all government and private health institutions to initiate surveillance of suspected cases and collection of laboratory samples.
  • A special alert with guidelines(1,2) has been sent to Airport health officer and the Port health officer to initiate specified vigilance and surveillance activities at these entry points. A letter of request on this alert were sent to Harbour Master at Colombo Port, Director General Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman Airport and Aviation Services
  • Twenty hospitals had already been identified as sentinel hospitals for pandemic influenza preparedness under the World Bank funded National Avian/Pandemic Influenza Programme and clinical case management capacity in these hospitals in a likely event had been strengthened by establishing/upgrading isolation units, supply of antiviral drug stocks and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and training of staff in pandemic preparedness and response including infection control.
  • Steps have been taken to strengthen the already available stocks of anti viral drugs and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at the identified sentinel hospitals and also at the Medical Supplies Division.World Health Organization (WHO) has donated further stocks of anti viral drugs including paediatric doses and PPE at the request of the Ministry of Health.
  • A surveillance programme had been initiated at the main entry point to the country, the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake to detect possible cases of the disease coming to the country. In-flight and ground level announcements on the surveillance system in place and disease symptoms direct all arriving passengers to the Airport Health Desk which operates 24 hours with additional medical officers, nursing officers and public health inspectors (PHII) allocated by the Ministry of Health and medical officers and nursing officers from the Sri Lanka Air Force. All arriving passengers are screened by the 2 thermal scanners installed before the immigration desk and those detected with high fever are directed to the health desk by the PHII attached to this point. At the immigration desk all passengers are handed a leaflet containing all the necessary information on the disease symptoms and the contact points. At the Health Desk all passengers are required to complete a health declaration form and to undergo a preliminary screening. If any suspected cases are detected they are sent to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) Colombo through a separate exit and a special ambulance is kept available for this purpose. All passengers arriving from affected countries and screened at the airport health desk are subjected to voluntary quarantine monitored by the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) of the relevant area and his team.
  • A routine influenza surveillance programme is being carried out in all these 20 hospitals which collect at least 30 samples each for a month from patients attending the Out Patients' Department (OPD) and from inward patients with symptoms of Influenza Like Illnesses (ILI). These samples are tested for influenza viruses at the Medical Research Institute (MRI) which has been recognized as the national Influenza laboratory by the WHO. This surveillance system has been established to identify the routinely circulating influenza viruses in the country and to work as an early warning system for novel viruses with pandemic potential. Therefore this system would act as a back up support in catching the swine flu' virus from the community.
  • National Steering Committee on Avian/Pandemic Influenza Preparedness co-chaired by the Ministers of Health and Livestock Development & Agriculture and the National Technical Committee on Avian/Pandemic Influenza Preparedness would guide and monitor the response to this swine flu' outbreak. The Former committee was formed to provide political leadership to the Avian/Pandemic Influenza Preparedness programme and it consists of high level officials from the two ministries to discuss related policy and political issues and to coordinate with other government Ministries in an inter-ministerial capacity when relevant.The National Technical Committee on Avian/Pandemic Influenza Preparedness is a working group of high level technical officers of the two main Ministries and other relevant government, non government and international donor agencies. The committee is co-chaired by the Director General of Department of Animal Production & Health of the Ministry of Livestock Development & Agriculture and the Director General of Health Services of Ministry of Health. Its membership include representatives from all the important key stakeholders involved in the scope of the preparedness programme such as heads of main laboratories and research centers in the two sectors, senior technical officials from different sectors covering epidemiology, health education, agriculture, veterinary science, education, disaster management, wild life and environment, representatives from supplies departments of both sectors, directors of major curative human and animal health institutions, representatives from media, officials from main non government organizations and donor agencies related to two sectors and officials representing armed forces.
  • A National Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan (NIPP) with scientific and technical information on prevention and containment of potential pandemic influenza outbreaks in animals and humans had been formulated by the two main departments involved in the preparedness programme, the Epidemiology Unit and the DAPH of the two ministries and is available at www.epid.gov.lk
  • The main laboratory, Medical Research Institute (MRI) as a National Influenza Centre (NIC) collaborates with the global influenza laboratory network and its Molecular and Viral laboratories had been upgraded under Avian/Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Programme

Health Alert.

Alert to Hospitals


Sentinel Hospitals for Influenza preparedness in Sri Lanka.

Sentinel site list

Last update 2010-01-08.. Epidemiology Unit
 
   
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