Dengue mosquito population increases

There had been a 29.5% increase in the population of mosquitoes which carry dengue in Sri Lanka, the National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) said on Saturday.NDCU said the increase had occurred in the second week of January compared to the first week. About 6,689 cases of dengue had been reported in the first 18 days of the year, and one person has died the NDCU said.

NDCU added that 2,951 dengue cases had been reported from January 8 to 14.

Most cases had been reported from the Colombo district (1,391), the most populous district, while 1,320 cases had been reported from Jaffna, which faces the brunt of the North Eastern monsoon, the NDCU said.There were over 88,000 cases in 2023, and 58 deaths had been reported, Dr. Sudath Samaraweera, Director of the NDCU said.  (RK)