The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly become an era-defining challenge for the entire world. It has implications not only in the public health sector but also in the global economy and political landscape. The prevention strategy that has been followed in Sri Lanka is unique. Early action taken by the government and the ministry of health, being one of pre-emptive quarantining and isolation of suspected contacts even before they developed symptoms, was vital to contain the spread of the disease. During the early phase, a nationwide lockdown in the form of a curfew was imposed which helped mitigate the spread of the virus. However, due to several lapses, there was a threat of community transmission; this was swiftly brought under control through ongoing government interventions. Thus, strict social/physical distancing measures enforced by the government, together with an increase in testing capacity, prevented widespread community transmission. Strictly containing the outbreaks as and when they were identified made it easier to bring the spread under control through contact tracing. In this article, we give an account of the strategy taken by Sri Lanka to mitigate the pandemic and comment on the lessons learned concerning the ethical responses to the COVID-19 crisis.

The media plays a vital role in disseminating medical information to the public. However, the accuracy of the health information that is available varies widely. What is published in the media has important consequences on patients' decisions about their health, be it their faith in vaccines or the specific medication that they take. It can also influence the general public's perceptions of healthcare. There is a dire need for professionalism in health-related reporting which will ensure that the anonymity and autonomy of the subject as well as the receivers are protected. Inaccurate journalism can generate both false hopes and unnecessary fears. On the other hand, critical health journalism can help set records straight. This paper looks at both positive and negative impacts of medical journalism. It also outlines some of the challenges and deficiencies in medical journalism, and obstacles faced by journalists in reporting health news. We conclude with key aspects that need to be implemented for the successful reporting and dissemination of health-related information.

Objectives Tamoxifen is considered to be the most widely used adjuvant therapy for hormone receptor positive breast cancer in premenopausal women. However, it is reported that nearly 30% of patients receiving tamoxifen therapy have shown reduced or no benefits. This may be due to the high inter-individual variations in the CYP2D6 gene that is involved in tamoxifen metabolism. The CYP2D6*10 gene variant (rs1065852C>T) is reported to be commonly found in Asian and South Asian populations. The present study was undertaken to design a novel pharmacogenetic assay (Single step-Tetra Arms Polymerase Chain Reaction) for the identification of the CYP2D6*10 variant and implement the designed assay by genotyping a cohort of breast cancer patients. Results The novel assay was successfully designed, optimized and validated using Sanger sequencing. Blood samples from 70 patients were genotyped. The following bands were observed in the gel image: Control band at 454 bp; band for C allele at 195 bp; band for T allele at 300 bp. The genotype frequencies for the CYP2D6*10 (rs1065852C>T) variant were: CC-24.28% (17/70), CT-75.71% (53/70), TT-0% (0/70). The allele frequencies were: T-allele-37.86% and C-allele-62.14%.

Background The cytochrome P450 3A5 CYP3A5 enzymes are important for metabolizing the drug tacrilomus, an immunosuppressive agent used in solid organ transplantation. Genetic variants in the CYP3A5 gene are significant determinants of tacrolimus efficacy. The present study was undertaken to design a novel pharmacogenetic assay (Single step-Tetra Arms Polymerase Chain Reaction) to study the distribution of the CYP3A5*3 (rs776746) and CYP3A5*1E (rs4646453) variants by genotyping a cohort of healthy individuals.Results The CYP3A5*3 variant was the most frequent allele detected at 82% and the CYP3A5*1E C allele was found in 66.5% of the samples. The allele frequencies of CYP3A5*3 (rs776746) and CYP3A5*1E (rs4646453) were statistically significant (p < 0.05) when compared with the Asian ethnic group. The observed CYP3A5 genotype frequency distributions for the CYP3A5*3 (rs776746) and CYP3A5*1E (rs4646453) variants in the study population were consistent with the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (P > 0.05). For the CYP3A5*3 variant the frequency of the T/T [extensive metabolizer], C/T [intermediate metabolizer] and C/C [poor metabolizer] variants were 4%, 28% and 68% respectively. Furthermore, a significant linkage disequilibrium among rs4646453 and rs776746 was identified (p < 0.05).Conclusions A novel tetra-primer ARMS PCR assay was successfully designed and implemented for genotyping of the CYP3A5 variants CYP3A5*3 (rs776746) and CYP3A5*1E (rs4646453). These pharmacogenomic assays could be offered to patients to predict their response to tacrolimus.