Director of the National Dengue Control Unit Dr. Sudath Samaraweera says the number of dengue cases in the country has increased significantly over the past few months.
Speaking during a media briefing at the Department of Government Information today, Dr. Samaraweera said the dengue virus turned into a pandemic every two-three years within the past decade.
He said the most severe situation arose in 2017 where over 180,000 patients were reported after which there was a reduction in 2018 and a further escalation in 2019.
He said a drop in the number of dengue infections was observed in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Samaraweera said a large number of infections were reported at the beginning of 2021 from the Batticaloa District.
He said 4,561 dengue infections were reported in November adding 8,740 infections have been reported in December thus far.
He noted it was clear that infections have doubled in the country compared to November.
Furthermore, Dr. Samaraweera said two-third of the infections were reported from the Western Province out of which 12 percent were reported within the Colombo Municipality while the remaining cases in the Colombo district makes up to 20 percent of the entire cases reported in Sri Lanka.
He said 24 percent have been reported from the Gampaha District while the Kalutara District reported 10 percent.
Dr. Samaraweera highlighted the importance of proactively taking all necessary steps to mitigate the spread of dengue.
