• Dengue eradication week declared from June 15 to 21

By Chaturanga Samarawickrama 

There is a risk of dengue fever spreading again in the country and the number of patients reported from the Western Province (WP) is increasing, National Dengue Control Unit Director Dr. Sudath Samaraweera said. 
Addressing the media, he said 26,622 patients were reported during this year, but only 2,416 patients were reported during the past eight days across the country. 

However, there is an increase in reports of dengue-infected people from the WP. 

Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kandy, Galle, Jaffna, Ratnapura and Kegalle Districts have been identified as the high-risk dengue spreading zones. 
According to the recent analysis, 82 hazardous divisions were indentified, Dr. Samaraweera said. 
He asked people to destroy mosquito breeding grounds in houses, office premises, and public places to prevent the disease from spreading. 

“It was observed that mosquitoes are breeding in construction sites which have been temporarily abandoned due to the economic crisis.” 

“A fully-fledged attention was paid to control COVID-19 recently, and dengue control was overlooked,” Dr. Samaraweera said. 

He advised people to seek immediate medical treatment if a fever persists for more than twenty-four hours.