Typhoid: Public Urged To Take Precautions
By Nirmala Kannangara
Food Outlet
In order to prevent spreading Typhoid, workers in all the city hotels, restaurants and eating houses have been asked to get the typhoid vaccination by the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), Chief Medical Officer CMC Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam said.
Dr. Kariyawasam told The Sunday Leader that this decision was taken following the typhoid outbreak in September and October this year.
“This is a disease that carries the germ through food and water. Since the people who eat from outside are more prone to get this illness, we decided to vaccinate the hotel workers because the food items could get contaminated with Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Para Typhi bacteria through these workers if they carry the germ,” said Dr. Kariyawasam. According to Dr. Kariyawasam, there are around 10,000 workers attached to the food industry in the city and all of them would be vaccinated within the next few weeks. “The CMC has already vaccinated more than 4,000 workers and in the event the others do not come to us we will go to them and give the typhoid vaccination,” Dr. Kariyawasam added.
When asked whether the vaccination would be for life or whether it has to be administered annually, Dr. Kariyawasam said that the vaccination has to be administered once in three years. “During the September and October outbreak we found 35 typhoid patients in the city. People who consume food from outside should be extremely careful. We have advised the restaurants and eating houses not to take water from tube wells and to cook the food thoroughly as this would kill the germ,” said Dr. Kariyawasam.
