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| Sunday, 8 June 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Activated charcoal for Kaneru poisoning by Deepal Warnakulasuriya Activated Charcoal has been identified as the latest and most effective treatment for Kaneru (Yellow Oleander) poisoning, with the local team of researchers claiming a 70 per cent success rate. The discovery by a team of doctors from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Kelaniya, Ragama and the Kurunegala General Hospitals in collaboration with the Oxford University and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, a major breakthrough in the field of poisoning, was published in the latest issue of the prestigious medical journal the "Lancet" More than 30,000 youth with Kaneru poisoning are admitted to hospitals around the country, every year. According to Dr. Asitha de Silva, one of the members, nearly 3000 succumb to the poison. According to the team's findings, a multiple dose of Activated Charcoal can reduce deaths by as much as 70 per cent. The Activated Charcoal treatment is also cost effective as it widely available in the country. Prof. Janaka de Silva estimates that the multiple dosage, at Rs 650 per portion, is much cheaper than the drugs presently used, which cost over Rs. 250,000 per patient and are rarely available in the peripheral hospitals. The research team comprised Drs. Asita de Silva, Mahilal Fonseka, D.G.S. Alahakoon, G.A. Ratnatilleke, A. Parameswaran, Channa Ranasinha, David Lalloo, Jeff Aronson, Prof. Saman Gunatilake and Prof.Janaka de Silva. |
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