Cuban experts to study feasibility
of BTI

By Nizla Naizer

Over 17218 Sri Lankans have fallen victim to dengue which has spread across the island with a total of 175 deaths since January. However, Epidemiology Unit Director Dr. Prabha Palihawadana said yesterday that the trend will reverse as a decline by around 500 infected patients was witnessed in the first week of July.
“We saw a rapid spread of the disease in the months of May and June, but this July, the numbers have dropped,” she explained, “We anticipate this trend to continue.”
In a bid to curb the spread, proposals have been made to import Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis or (BTI) from Cuba, a bacteria that could destroy the larvae of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. However, Consultant Epidemiologist Dr. Hasitha Tissera explained that two health experts from Cuba will be flown into the country to monitor and study the environment first. “We are working very closely with the authorities but we understand that there is only a limited use for the BTI,” he said.
Dr. Tissera explained that with three strains of dengue simultaneously spreading within the country, it is harder to combat the disease.
“Our laboratory tests have indicated that we are dealing with Type 1,2 and 3 of the dengue strain.” He added that in tropical countries such as ours, dengue is a cyclical outbreak every 2-3 years, but several factors including the spread of the vector mosquito and the ensuing rainy season has made this cycle longer.
While details have emerged about mosquito larvae that feed on the larvae of the Aedes mosquito, the feasibility of releasing it to the environment is still being studied. Gampaha District has suffered the highest number of deaths with 35 falling victim while the Kandy district has seen the highest number of infections with 2475 cases.
Dengue has no treatment, but involves constant monitoring and providing the patient with fluids as the victim becomes dehydrated as the disease progresses. Health officials however are confident that the system is capable of handling the influx of patients.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the spread of dengue has grown considerably in the last few years with over 2.5 billion people at risk at present. It is also estimated that 50 million dengue infections occur worldwide every year.