Poliomyelitis was a serious public health concern in Sri Lanka from 1951 to 1986. During this time the disease resulted in high morbidity and mortality in the country. In 1962, the country experienced a major epidemic with 1810 cases and 180 deaths. However, with extensive surveillance mechanisms and high immunization coverage, the country was able to achieve a polio-free status in South East Asia Region (SEAR) in 2015, while the last case of poliomyelitis was reported in 1993. The strong leadership of the National poliomyelitis eradication program that led to the above achievement was given by....  Read More

Showing - of 0 results

High sustainable immunization coverage against measles and rubella, as well as stringent surveillance activities, lead the country to achieve the elimination targets. Immunization against Measles Measles is a highly infectious viral disease that results in high morbidity and mortality in children. The disease leads to severe complications such as pneumonia (1-6%), severe diarrhoea (8%), middle ear infection (7-9%), blindness in children under 5 years, and brain inflammation or Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE). According to the hospital inward statistics available at the Medical Statistics Unit....  Read More

Showing - of 0 results

Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus has been once among the most common lifethreatening conditions that result from unclean deliveries and unhygienic umbilical cord care practices. Once developed, tetanus is a disease with extremely high mortality rates, especially when appropriate medical care is not available. According to hospital in-ward statistics, around 2000 cases of tetanus per year were reported in Sri Lanka until the late 1970s, which included around 500-1000 cases of neonatal tetanus. Read More

Showing - of 0 results

HPV is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract. Most sexually active women and men become infected with HPV at some point of their lives. Cervical cancer is by far the most common HPV-related cancer. Even though most HPV infections are clear on their own, there is a risk that HPV infection becomes persistent in some women and may lead to invasive cervical cancer. It takes approximately 15 to 20 years for a woman with persistent infection to develop cervical cancer. Read More

Showing - of 0 results