A three-day dengue control program will be conducted from September 1 to 3 covering 60 high-risk divisions of the Medical Officer of Health (MOH), Community Medical Specialist Dr. Nimalka Pannilahetti said. She was speaking at a press conference regarding the risk of the spread of dengue. Dr. Pannilahetti said a divisional inspection will be conducted by despatching teams with the support of the Security Forces and the Police in the Colombo, Kalutara, Galle, Gampaha, Kandy, Kegalle and Ratnapura districts.
She said that if about 500 dengue cases are reported per week, the patient’s treatment can be successfully managed. However, around 1,500 dengue cases are reported per week while there were also 3,200 cases reported.
Dr. Pannilahetti said that such a large number of infected people reported in a week creates some obstacles for patient management. Since the beginning of this year, there has been an increase in the number of dengue patients reported every month and the situation worsened last month and about 11,500 patients received inhouse hospital treatment. As of August 25, the number of patients had reduced by half and around 5,600 patients had been reported this month alone, she said.
She said, “This reduction is due to the recent awareness campaigns and we have to work hard during the next four months to control the situation. An increase in the number of patients is expected especially in the Northern and Eastern regions in the future with the onset of the Northeast monsoon.”
According to dengue larva surveys, there is a high trend of dengue mosquito breeding in institutional premises, which is around 12 percent. Nearly 52,500 dengue cases were reported in the first eight months of this year, while 36,000 cases were reported last year, she said.
“We should spend at least half an hour once a week cleaning mosquito breeding grounds to control the spread of dengue,” Dr. Pannilahetti added.