COLOMBO — Sri Lanka is stepping up a military-supported campaign to control the spread of dengue fever as the death toll reached 49 since the start of 2026. The South Asian island nation deployed the military last month to identify and eliminate mosquito breeding sites.

Starting Thursday, July 16th, the number of medical staff and security personnel involved in the anti-dengue drive will be doubled, concentrating on Colombo and two neighboring districts, which are the worst affected, according to Kapila Kannangara, head of the National Dengue Control Unit. "We are launching a new drive from tomorrow to expand into more areas with additional staff and security personnel," Kannangara said.

Official data indicates that 61,057 people were infected in the first six months of this year, more than twice the 30,060 cases recorded during the same period in 2025. However, these figures remain below the 2017 record of 186,000 cases and 440 deaths.

Dengue symptoms include high fever, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and muscle pain, with severe cases causing bleeding that can be fatal. Officials emphasized the urgency of controlling the virus's spread to avoid hospital overcrowding.

The disease is transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, identifiable by its black-and-white striped legs, which breeds in stagnant water. The World Health Organization has warned that dengue and other mosquito-borne viruses are spreading more rapidly and widely due to climate change.

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