A contact of Swine flu has been identified in Jaffna

A contact of Swine flu has been identified in Jaffna, the message was by Dr. N. Sivarajah
Consultant / Coordinator, Jaffna Coordination Unit,WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 123/1 Temple Road, Nallur, Jaffna.E-mail: sivarajah@whosrilanka.org.

second case of swine flu (H1N1 virus) was detected in Sri Lanka yesterday. Health authorities said that the second patient was a six year old boy and a cousin of the first patient – the eight year old boy detected with the disease on Tuesday. Both are undergoing treatment at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH). They belonged to a group that had arrived in the country from Australia. Hospital sources said that the father of the first patient was also undergoing treatment at the IDH but it had not been determined whether he had contracted the disease. The others who had accompanied the patient are also under observation, officials said.

The Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry yesterday instructed the Katunayake International Airport (KIA) authorities to detain passengers who refused to fill the Health Information Form at the airport and hand them over to Quarantine Department officials for screening for possible fatal communicable diseases like swine flu.

The Ministry has made it compulsory for all arriving passengers to fill the Health Information Form from yesterday.