Increasing incidence of a chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology (CKDu) is quickly turning into Sri Lankas latest health crisis, with hospitals in the countrys most affected province linking 80 percent of patients deaths to renal failure. The disease some refer to as an unknown plague has triggered internal migration, particularly among youths living in disease-prone areas. Scientists have failed to identify a cause, thwarting efforts to prevent the disease which leads to renal failure, and at worst, death. Based on hospital records, men over 40 seem to be most at-risk, which has pushed many households in the islands north-central region (the most affected nationwide) to encourage young men to migrate. Manamendra Padmasena,* 48, a farmer from the capital of North Central Province (NCP), Anuradhapura, has undergone treatment for CKDu for the past six years. He takes 48 tablets a day, in three doses and requires constant hospitalization year-round. His wife has also been diagnosed with the disease. We cant find work because we are unfit. Our two sons do farming work but also work as unskilled labourers to support the family, Padmasena told IRIN. Sumana, his wife, is worried about her sons future and tearfully claimed their marriage prospects were zero because of their parents ill-health. We are a burden to our children. Villagers dont want to give their daughters in marriage to children like ours, fearing they too will end up with renal failure. Their neighbour, Agalawatte Padmasiris* three children left the area �� an increasingly common phenomenon as people flee the disease, say villagers - when some of their family members were diagnosed with the disease. If they stayed, there would have been no employment and no marriage, Padmasiri told IRIN. Confirming the trend, Dr Asanga Ranasinghe, director of the Provincial Renal Disease Prevention Unit of Anuradhapura General Hospital in NCP (the islands most affected province), said patients families found it difficult to marry their relatives because prospective partners often feared higher susceptibility to renal failure. People suffer from a fear psychosis and lack awareness. There is a belief that CKDu is communicable and even genetic. If family members are diagnosed with CKDu, others will have reduced chances in marriage. This health stigma is driving youth away from homes, said Hemantha Vithanage, executive director of local NGO Centre for Environmental Justice, which has helped conduct disease research. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are approximately 20,000 CKDu patients undergoing care in NCP, with the most densely populated district, Anuradhapura, where the disease was first reported in 2000, recording the highest number of patients. Ranasinghe said the provinces monthly death rate average as of the end of 2013 due to renal failure was, the islands highest. Some 2,000 cases were reported countrywide in 2013 with the electoral divisions of Medawachchiya and Anuradhapura (where there were nearly 1,600 reported deaths linked to CKDu from 2002-2010) in NCP reporting the most. According to Ranasinghe, the annual increase in kidney patients in Anuradhapura is approximately 1,450, and 450 in the provincial district of Polonnaruwa. Health officials banned the import of three pesticides (chlopyrifos, propanil and vabarly) last April after local researchers linked agrochemicals to the disease. Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena told IRIN: These pesticides are extremely harmful to human health. Even if there is no direct link, this is preventive action. The Health Ministry spends some US$3 million annually to treat persons diagnosed with CKDu. The government provides kidney patients receiving regular treatment with a monthly stipend of about near $4 and those on dialysis, $11.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 22:52:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015