Health Minister and Co-Cabinet Spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne yesterday refuted claims that there was H1N1 epidemic in the country. “The disease is spreading but according to Ministry of Health reports, the situation is not dire,” the Minister said.
He was addressing the weekly Cabinet briefing at Parliament.
He further explained that of the 3,548 suspected samples suspected of H1N1 influenza sent to the Medical Research Institute, only 528 have proven to be positive.
“The media is blowing this out of proportion. As a result the Government of Qatar has issued a travel warning against us,” Minister Senaratne said.
Senaratne stressed that H1N1 was not to be feared but was only dangerous to pregnant mothers, children and kidney patients, “This is just a new form of the influenza and this is seasonal depending on the changes in the weather. April is a month known for the spread of H1N1,” the Minister further said.
The University of Peradeniya closed down this week as a result of an H1N1 spread among the students and the Central Province has been marked as a high risk zone for the flu. The minister however denied the report and stated that they have not identified a significant increase in the number of patients in the Province.