Sri Lanka’s public health services and hospitals are battling the worst outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue in nearly a decade, and turning to the island nation’s armed forces to help curb the spread of the disease.
The efforts range from air force drones tracking stagnant pools of water on rooftops after monsoon rains to military and police officers helping to inspect homes, building sites and schools in a campaign to stamp out mosquito breeding sites.
With 53 deaths and 76,044 infections since it began in January, case numbers – driven by a more virulent strain – are approaching the tally of over 100,000 notched by a 2017 outbreak.
“It’s challenging for the doctors because it’s a rapid increase in (the number of) patients,” said consultant Lalindra Dias in Negombo, one of the worst-hit areas, located about 35km north of the key city of Colombo.
“All of a sudden, you get a large influx (of patients) coming into the hospital,” added Dias, whose district general hospital treated nearly 1,800 patients in less than two months since June, up from about 1,050 in 2025.
July influx of cases
Hospitals rushed to add beds, convert wards to care for the ill and step up hours worked by doctors and nurses in the battle to treat an influx of more than 18,000 cases in the first two weeks of July, the health authorities said.
June’s tally of 21,537 infections, which are usually characterised by high fever, body aches and loss of appetite, was more than double the figure in May, but Sri Lanka has yet to introduce a vaccine.
The heightened strain comes in the aftermath of cyclone Ditwah, the nation’s worst natural disaster, which tore up critical infrastructure and health facilities in late November 2025, causing losses estimated by the World Bank at US$1.4 billion (S$1.8 billion).
That threatens to swamp Sri Lanka’s advantage of four hospital beds for every 1,000 people which is above the average global ratio of fewer than three, World Bank data shows.
Public health workers are “stretched to their limit”, said Kapila Kannangara, acting director-general of the National Dengue Control Unit.
“The number of patients is high, and the severity of the cases is high,” he added, since about 75 per cent of cases were linked to the more virulent DENV-2 strain.
Health officials expect infections, typically boosted by the rainy season, to ease off as monsoon rains weaken in August, but warn they could climb from November as rainfall returns to the island during its second annual monsoon season.
Armed forces join clean-up work
On July 16, the government targeted the cleaning up of its worst-affected regions, combing sites from homes to religious institutions to eliminate sites where mosquitoes breed, the authorities said.
The air force is using its drones to help public health officials identify rooftops where water collects and monitor larger areas. It is also helping overstretched staff at some public hospitals keep track of patients.
Nearly 11,000 mosquito breeding sites were cleared in July 2026, with fines levied on the owners or occupiers of more than 4,000 premises found to harbour them, the health ministry said.
To reduce pressure on hospitals, doctors are advising those with mild symptoms to recover at home, some patients said.
“The doctor asked me to stay at home because my platelet count had not fallen too much,” 23-year-old Shalini Aloka Perera told Reuters.
“Then I did my treatment at home because there are too many patients in the hospitals.”
The authorities are also considering turning to a dengue vaccine, though experts have warned it may confer limited benefits as the virus is complex and several strains are circulating.
At the Negombo hospital, Dr Dias said the rise in cases was expected to plateau before declining in August, but the different pattern of virulence has made such forecasts difficult this year.
“So we cannot exactly say when it will stop, by the end of July. Sometimes it will be a little longer than that.” REUTERS
