Three-fold rise in dengue cases

Sri Lankan health personnel have reported a three-fold increase in the number of recorded dengue fever cases in the first quarter of this year.

“This rise is mainly due to weather patterns,” Sudath Peries, deputy chief epidemiologist at the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health, told IRIN.

Containers or hollows where stagnant water can accumulate provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes, promoting the spread of dengue. “If there are heavy rains and flooding, dengue breeding grounds will likely be washed away,” said Sumanasiri Gamage, an independent health worker.

“However, due to intermittent rains, the breeding continues.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dengue is the most common mosquito-borne viral disease in humans. Some 2.5 billion people - two-fifths of the world’s population - are at risk from dengue fever, with an estimated 50 million infections worldwide every year.

The Epidemiology Unit said 9,317 dengue cases and 38 deaths were reported in the first three months of 2012, against 3,103 in the first quarter of 2011.

The highest number occurred in January, when 3,892 cases were reported, followed by 3,004 in February and 2,421 in March.

- IRIN