Lanka battles Mosquitoes as dengue fever claims 18 lives
AFP, Colombo
Sri Lankan authorities launched a week-long campaign yesterday to destroy breeding grounds of mosquitoes as dengue fever claimed 18 lives while another 3,300 people were infected. The health ministry's epidemiology unit said there was a potential threat of a dengue epidemic ahead of the monsoon season that starts from June and continues for two months. "We have seen a sharp increase in the number of cases reported in May and we fear the numbers will increase in the next two months with the monsoon setting in," said doctor Hasitha Tissera of the epidemiology unit. He said 18 people have died this year of dengue, which is spread by mosquitoes. The district of Colombo had 667 cases of dengue this year, making it the worst-hit region in the country, he said, as municipal workers and volunteers began a campaign here to clean up the city of mosquito breeding grounds.
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