“WHO Recommends Close Disease Surveillance in Sri Lanka”

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In the aftermath of flash flooding and landslides in Sri Lanka, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the country's Ministry of Health are scrambling to enhance disease surveillance and ensure that there is clean drinking water and food, in order to prevent outbreaks of disease. According to the WHO, diarrheal and vector-borne diseases are possible. Immediate action is necessary, the WHO's representative in Sri Lanka, Dr. Kan Tun, said, because “epidemics can be expected in a matter of days, particularly in the camp settlements and inundated areas near the coast.” In addition to the standard emergency health kits that are being distributed, vaccines, oral rehydration salts, and insecticide-treated mosquito nets are being provided to health officials in the affected districts.

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