Dengue national disaster: 200 deaths, 63,987 cases this year

The number of dengue deaths has risen to 200 within six months, with the number of cases rising to 63,987 by yesterday, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said.

He told a news conference yesterday that the dengue epidemic had become a national disaster and with the recent floods in the island the number was likely to increase.

“With the monsoonal rains setting in, July is usually the month in which dengue cases increase," he said. The minister said he had obtained Cabinet approval to employ 1,500 people to conduct fogging in the worst affected districts.

“The dengue prevention teams will be empowered to enter any premises and where mosquito breeding grounds are found, those responsible could be fined up to Rs. 25,000," he warned.

Dr. Senaratne said the ongoing issue of poor waste management and urbanisation were among other reasons for the raging dengue epidemic.

The minister rejected recent criticism over the unavailability of the dengue medicine Dextran. He said the Ministry was getting it from Thailand. However, since Dextran was made of a bacteria, the production was limited. But Sri Lanka would ask Thailand to increase supplies because the rising number of cases here.

The minister also revealed that consultations were underway with Australia's well known Monash university experts regarding the curbing of dengue through the Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) bacteria.