Dengue cases in Sri Lanka surpass 70,000

By Sheain Fernandopulle  

Sparking concerns of a major spike in dengue cases, the tally of Dengue cases recorded for 2023 has already topped the 70,000 mark, according to the Epidemiology Unit.   
In addition, four more dengue related deaths have been reported pushing the total number of deaths to 43.   As of November 08, 70,178 cases have been reported in 2023, with the highest number of cases being from the Colombo district, which stood at 14,884.   The Western Province has recorded over 33,000 cases, the highest province- wise while the month of November has also logged 1,685 Dengue cases.   According to health officials, dengue cases are pegged to spike owing to the prevailing rainy conditions.   In this context, people are urged to keep their surroundings clean and destroy mosquito breeding places in order to keep dengue at bay.  Sri Lanka reported a total of approximately 76,467 dengue fever cases nationwide in 2022, 36,120 cases in 2021, and 31,162 cases in 2020.