Dengue Outbreak in Sri Lanka Nears 2017 Levels Amid Rapid Patient Increase
Hızlı Bakış
- Sri Lanka is experiencing a severe dengue outbreak with 76,044 infections and 53 deaths since January, approaching 2017 levels.
- Hospitals in areas like Negombo are overwhelmed by a rapid influx of patients, forcing them to add beds and increase staff hours.
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Sri Lanka is experiencing a dengue outbreak since January, with 76,044 infections and 53 deaths, approaching the 2017 outbreak's 100,000 tally. Hospitals are struggling to cope with a rapid increase in patients, especially in areas like Negombo.
With 53 deaths and 76,044 infections since it began in January, the numbers of the stricken, spread wider by a more virulent strain, are approaching the tally of more than 100,000 notched by a 2017 outbreak.
“It’s challenging for the doctors because it’s a rapid increase in patients,” said consultant Lalindra Dias in Negombo, one of the worst-hit areas, located about 35km (20 miles) north of the key city of Colombo.
“All of a sudden, you get a large influx coming into the hospital,” added Dias, whose district general hospital treated nearly 1,800 sufferers in less than two months since June, up from about 1,050 in 2025.
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, health authorities said.
Açık Sorular
- How will the healthcare system cope with the continued influx?
- What specific measures are being taken to control the spread?
