President enjoins to power up Dengue Task Force

With Western Province seeing a growth in Dengue cases, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has urged the Governor of the Western Province, Chief Secretary and the District Secretary to mobilize the dengue task force to regulate the spread of dengue in the Western Province with the assistance of relevant institutions and the public.

Yesterday, the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) warned that over 30,000 dengue cases have been disclosed over the last four months of 2023, and that almost 50 percent of these cases were reported from the Colombo and Gampaha districts of the Western Province. 

Dengue holds a periodic transmission in Sri Lanka that coincides with the rainy season, with two peaks occurring with the monsoon rains in June-July and in October-December respectively.

Concerns in this regard have been voiced within the Kalutara and Batticaloa districts equally, in consonance with the SLMA.

Speaking on the recent hike-up in the number of Dengue patients being reported, SLMA Assistant Secretary Dr. Lahiru Kodithuwakku stressed that an epidemic could burst forth if the surrounding is not contained in the most effective way, as the number of cases are only going to heighten in view of the wet spell.