Sri Lanka is deploying its military to contain a surge in mosquito-borne dengue fever, as health authorities warned on Tuesday that hospitals are being overwhelmed with more than 1,000 admissions daily.
The office of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced that officers from army, navy, and air force will join a special unit tasked with identifying and destroying mosquito breeding sites. This intervention comes as the country experiences a sharp rise in cases since the beginning of June, with official data recording over 1,000 infections in a single day this week.
According to official figures, nearly 50,000 cases and 29 deaths have been reported so far this year. While these statistics remain below the 2017 peak—when 186,000 patients and 440 deaths were recorded—the government’s dengue unit expressed fears that state and private hospitals may soon be unable to manage further increases, reports AFP.
“Hospitals are already under pressure,” Kapila Kannangara, the head of the unit, told reporters in Colombo. “We don’t want to have a situation like the one we faced in 2017”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously cautioned that dengue and other mosquito-borne viruses are spreading faster and further due to the effects of climate change. Locally, conditions for the rapid spread of the Aedes mosquito have been heightened by monsoon rains, stagnant water from recent flooding, and the haphazard dumping of waste. The Aedes mosquito, recognisable by its black and white striped legs, typically breeds in stagnant pools.
In response to the crisis, a nationwide campaign to clean up breeding sites is scheduled to launch on Wednesday. Alongside the formation of the special military unit, the government has stated that laws will be strictly enforced against individuals who allow mosquito breeding on their premises.
Dengue is characterised by high fevers, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and muscle pain. In its most serious forms, the virus can cause bleeding that may lead to death.
