While declaring a dengue eradication week starting today, Chief Medical Officer of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), Dr. Ruwan Wijayamuni said a total of 27,000 dengue-positive cases were reported from around the country.

He said 50 percent of the dengue patients were reported from the Western Province while 9.8 percent of the dengue patients were reported from the Western Province belonged to the Colombo City area.

With the active South Eastern Monsoon and due to the heat, the dengue mosquito population has increased, and the number of dengue patients is increasing.

"It was reported that there were 1,101 dengue patients from the Colombo area, and 993 of them were diagnosed with the dengue virus. A total of 25 dengue deaths were reported, and it was requested that the people contact the nearest medical officer to check whether they were infected with the dengue virus," Dr. Wijayamuni said.

He also requested such persons to immediately seek medical treatment. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)