The mosquito-borne viral disease of dengue has recently hit Sri Lanka hard. The Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health reports that the outbreak has claimed close to 300 lives—with the number of cases recorded at over 103,000 so far—double than that of 2016. The unprecedented state of the outbreak in Sri Lanka has led to other problems.
Dr Novil Wijesekara, head of health at the Sri Lanka Red Cross expressed, “Patients were streaming into overcrowded hospitals that are stretched beyond capacity and struggling to cope.” According to World Health Organisation (WHO), dengue cases have increased 30 folds over the past 50 years. Up to 100 million infections occur annually in more than 100 endemic countries, including Sri Lanka.
Dengue is prevalent during the monsoon season, typically from June to September. The monsoon rain and flooding brought forth breeding grounds for the mosquitoes, with recurring rain, stagnant water and poor hygiene worsening the conditions. As such, the education ministry has instructed for a four-day school shut down for tens of thousands of volunteers – to join government officials and soldiers – to spot and eradicate mosquito breeding grounds.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Red Cross have deployed volunteers who are working with government officials to go door-to-door – to educate the public about dengue and how to stop it from spreading. “It will require a united front in support of the government’s prevention and control programme and committed community action to tackle it,” remarked Jagath Abeysinghe, president of Sri Lanka Red Cross.
Please be advised that IMC has a comprehensive product list of RID mosquito repellents in all our clinics.