Colombo reports over 7,200 dengue cases

The number of dengue fever cases in Sri Lanka has reached 34,078 through 2August, according to the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) Epidemiology Unit.

Colombo has seen 7,260 cases, which are 21% of the overall. Gampaha (4,917), Galle (3,397) and Kalutara (2,967) follow, respectively.

While the MOH does not publish dengue-related fatalities, 58 deaths were reported three weeks ago by one media source.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection causing a severe flu-like illness and, sometimes causing a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue. Approximately, half of the world’s population is at risk and it affects infants, young children and adults. The incidence of dengue has increased 30-fold over the last 50 years. Up to 50-100 million infections are now estimated to occur annually in over 100 endemic countries, putting almost half of the world’s population at risk. (Source: outbreaknewstoday.com)