Sri Lanka deploys military as dengue cases strain hospitals
Sri Lanka will use army, navy and air force personnel to help destroy mosquito breeding sites as dengue infections rise sharply.
By Tom Brennan · Health & Medicine Correspondent
2 min read
Sri Lanka is sending military personnel into a dengue-control campaign as health officials warn that hospitals are coming under strain from a rise in infections. The move matters because the mosquito-borne disease has already caused 29 deaths in the country this year, according to official figures reported by AFP.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's office said Tuesday that army, navy and air force officers would join a special unit tasked with finding and eliminating places where mosquitoes breed. The office said authorities would also enforce laws against people who allow mosquito breeding sites on their property.
A national cleanup campaign aimed at removing breeding sites is due to begin Wednesday, according to the president's office. Health authorities said hospitals are seeing more than 1,000 dengue admissions a day, AFP reported.
Sri Lanka has recorded nearly 50,000 dengue cases so far this year, according to the figures cited by AFP. That remains below the country's 2017 peak, when authorities reported 186,000 patients and 440 deaths.
The government's dengue unit said it is worried that public and private hospitals may struggle if infections keep rising. Kapila Kannangara, who heads the unit, told reporters in Colombo that hospitals were already under pressure and that officials did not want to repeat the situation faced in 2017.
Official data showed a sharp increase since the start of June, with more than 1,000 cases reported in a single day this week, according to AFP. Health officials have linked the spread to conditions that favor mosquitoes, including monsoon rains, stagnant water left by recent flooding and waste dumped irregularly.
Dengue can cause high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and muscle pain, according to health authorities cited by AFP. Severe cases can involve bleeding and may be fatal.
The virus is spread by Aedes mosquitoes, which AFP described as identifiable by black-and-white striped legs. The mosquitoes breed in standing water, including stagnant pools that can collect around homes, work sites and public spaces.
The World Health Organization has warned that dengue and other mosquito-borne viruses are spreading faster and over wider areas because of climate change. Sri Lanka's latest campaign is focused on reducing mosquito breeding sites before the health system faces a larger surge.
This story draws on original reporting from Medical Xpress.