Sri Lanka has reported 53234 suspected dengue cases through the first five months of 2017, approximately a 150 percent increase compared to the same period in 2016 and one international non-governmental organization says the numbers could rise even further.
Approximately 42.45% of dengue cases were reported from the Western province. The highest numbers of dengue cases were reported during the 16 week of 2017.
Save the Children warns that communities devastated by the flooding will also experience stagnant flood waters, providing the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes that could exacerbate the dengue crisis.
The humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka right now is alarming. The impact of these early monsoon season downpours has been far more devastating than what we’d normally expect this time of year,” Save the Children Country Director in Sri Lanka, Chris McIvor said.
“We’re particularly worried we could start seeing a further increase in the number of dengue cases because of the stagnant water that the floods will leave in their wake, which is the last thing needed by families and communities that have already lost so much.”
At the same time Sri Lanka’s Department of Meteorology is predicting more rainfall in the flood and landslide affected south west of the country in the coming days.
The current flooding and landslides have affected more than 430,000 people resulting in 151 deaths and more than 100 people missing.
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