ZCZC
BFF-32
SRI LANKA-RAT-FEVER-DIE
70 die, over 6,000 infected with rat fever in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Oct. 2, 2020 (BSS/XINHUA) — Seventy people have died of and over 6,000 others were infected with rat fever in Sri Lanka so far this year, local media reported on Friday, quoting the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry.
According to the official statistics, 6,096 patients have been infected with rat fever till September, and the highest number of patients are reported from Ratnapura in south-central Sri Lanka.
According to the Epidemiology Unit, an increase in the number of patients was reported in January, February, and May.
In Ratnapura, over 1,300 patients were reported while in Kalutara, on the outskirts of Colombo, over 200 patients were reported. The southern town of Galle also reported over 200 patients.
In 2019, a total of 6,021 rat fever patients were reported across the country and the most vulnerable were farmers, drain workers, canal cleaners, and persons who swam and played in contaminated water.
According to medical officers, the symptoms for rat fever include fever, chills, conjunctival suffusion, muscle tenderness, headache, and a decrease in passing urine.
Those suffering from these symptoms should seek medical treatment immediately, the Epidemiology Unit said.
BSS/XINHUA/IJ/1817 hrs