Sri Lanka: task force to fight dengue and chikungunya in Western Province

In Sri Lanka, the Secretary to the Ministry of Health of the Western Provincial Council, L. A. Kalukapuarachchi, has announced the creation of a task force to control the spread of dengue and chikungunya cases. Kalukapuarachchi emphasized that over 50% of dengue cases in Sri Lanka have been reported in the Western Province. The capital, Colombo, seems particularly affected by the outbreak, with the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) recording 1800 cases since the start of the year. According to CMC’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Geethika Ratnawardena, nearly 70,000 residences in the city have been identified as being at risk of dengue, and legal action has been taken against 471 of them. So far, Sri Lanka health authorities have confirmed 17,000 dengue cases nationwide this year.