Dengue on the rise, public warned to take precautions

• Over 27,500 dengue patients reported so far this year
• Galle most affected with five times the severity as 2018 with 2,594 reports so far
• Construction sites, schools and religious places noted as premises with high prevalence

By Ruwandi Gamage

The active south-west monsoon has resulted in a rise of reported dengue cases compared to last year, and, as of yesterday, there were 27,625 reported dengue patients in Sri Lanka, the Health Prevention Bureau stated yesterday.

The Districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Ratnapura, Kegalle, and Kandy have been identified as high risk areas, National Dengue Control Unit Director Dr. Anura Jayasekara told at a media briefing yesterday.

“According to dengue larvae survey reports and epidemiology studies, it has been confirmed that these areas are the high risk areas that have reported a high number of dengue patients this year. The months of May to July are usually the high risk months during which the most number of dengue cases are reported. The monsoon has a lot to do with this situation, but there’s a possibility that these numbers may increase in the coming days, therefore precautions must be taken by all,” Jayasekara stated.

Dr. Jayasekara further noted that the increase in construction sites had led to the rise in the reported number of dengue cases. He mentioned how the public must be made aware of this. “If there’s unfinished construction in personal premises, action must be taken to ensure the area is clean and drainage and rain water are successfully disposed.”

He further said that instructions on how to ensure cleanliness around construction sites was being shared with contractors.

“Schools are also high risk areas, as the airborne times of the dengue mosquito are during morning and afternoon hours. Colombo is the most affected as it is highly populated,” he said.

A circular is being prepared to ensure cleanliness in the school premises to eradicate dengue and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for the school children, stated Ministry of Education Health and Nutrition Director Renuka Peiris. 

Peiris said that besides the usual plan where the premises were cleaned every Friday, this circular would ensure clean areas during the school term tests and A/L exam next month.

“Schools are also being educated on the different types of plants that can be grown in the premises to create a difficult environment for the airborne mosquitoes. We are also introducing a new recycling program on 23 July to clean and dispose of milk packets that are given to school kids according to a nutritional program currently being run. Thus, this will not add to the garbage issue that can directly affect the outbreak of dengue,” she added.

Compared to last year, the number of reported cases so far is higher, said National Dengue Control Unit Consultant Community Physician Dr. Preshila Samaraweera. According to Dr. Samaraweera, Galle has been affected approximately five times more severely than last year. 

Reports at the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health show that the number of reported cases in Galle so far stands at 2,594, compared to 976 cases reported in the entirety of 2018.

“It is type 3 dengue that is on the rise this year, and out of all the high-risk districts, Galle has been hit the hardest,” she said.

Dr. Samaraweera said that there were 500 listed construction sites in the city of Colombo, according to surveys done by the Colombo Municipal Council. She says that the Ministry of Health would take legal action against these sites if they showed negligence and caused the spread of dengue. 

“We have a list of names of such sites and names of companies which have been negligent and have been found and fined. We are hoping to publicise it soon,” she added.

Commenting on the dengue vaccine, Dr. Samaraweera said that it was still at experimental level across the world and no countries had conducted clinical trials yet to use it on human patients.