Journal/Magazine Articles
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This collection contains original research articles, review articles and case reports published in local and international peer reviewed journals by the staff members of the Faculty of Medicine
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Item Effect of daily stressors and collective efficacy on post-traumatic stress symptoms among internally displaced persons in post-war northern Sri Lanka(Cambridge University Press, 2023) Somasundaram, D.; Jayasuriya, R.; Perera, R.; Thamotharampillai, U.; Wickremasinghe, R.; Tay, A.K.BACKGROUND: Daily stressors have been shown to mediate the relationship of war trauma and trauma-related distress among refugees and internally displaced persons exposed to war and conflict. AIMS: To examine the extent to which the relationship between war-related trauma and mental distress was mediated by daily stressors and collective efficacy among internally displaced communities a decade after exposure to war. METHOD: In a cross-sectional study, we recruited a random sample of residents in villages severely affected by conflict in five districts in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Measures of war trauma, daily stressors, collective efficacy and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) were examined. Statistical analyses of the mediating and moderating effects of daily stressors were conducted using regression based methods. RESULTS: Daily stressors mediated the association of war trauma and PTSS, as both paths of the indirect effect, war trauma to daily stressors and daily stressors to PTSS, were significant. The predictive effect of war trauma on PTSS was positive and significant at moderate and high levels of daily stressors but not at low levels. Higher levels of neighbourhood informal social control, a component of collective efficacy, function as a protective factor to reduce effects of war trauma and daily stressors on mental distress in this population. CONCLUSIONS: Daily stressors are an important mediator in the well-established relationship between war exposure and traumatic stress among internally displaced persons, even a decade after the conflict. Mental health and psychosocial support programmes that aim to address mental distress among war-affected communities could reduce daily stressors and enhance collective efficacy in this context.Item First report of V1016G and S989P knockdown resistant (kdr) mutations in pyrethroid-resistant Sri Lankan Aedes aegypti mosquitoes(BioMed Central, 2018) Fernando, S.D.; Hapugoda, M.; Perera, R.; Saavedra-Rodriguez, K.; Black WC 4th; de Silva, N.K.; ; ;BACKGROUND: Dengue is a serious arboviral disease in Sri Lanka with a large number of dengue fever (DF) cases every year. Control of the primary vector Aedes aegypti depends upon larval habitat source reduction and insecticide application. However, increases in the number of reported cases suggest the inefficiency of current control strategies and the possibility of resistance to currently used insecticides. Early detection of mutations in the voltage-gated sodium channel (vgsc) gene that confer knockdown resistance (kdr) to pyrethroid insecticides is important in resistance management in vector populations. RESULTS: Resistance to pyrethroid insecticides was detected in the three populations studied. Polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the presence of two kdr mutations F1534C and V1016G. During this process a S989P mutation was also detected in pyrethroid-resistant Ae. aegypti populations. These mutations were found to be widespread and frequent in the collections studied. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this study reveals for the first time the presence of V1016G and S989P mutant alleles in the vgsc of Sri Lankan Ae. aegypti populations. The spread of the mutant alleles throughout the country poses a threat of increased resistance to pyrethroids. Long-term insecticide applications and indiscriminate use of pyrethroids has led to the evolution of resistance. More strategic and diverse strategies, including novel insecticides with new modes of action and community participation, should be engaged for Ae. aegypti control.