Sri Lanka’s dengue epidemic has gone over the 100,000 cases mark with the health ministry putting the tally at 101,698 as of today.

This is more than 4-times higher than the average number of cases for the same period between 2010 and 2016.

Image/CDC
Image/CDC

Approximately 43% of the dengue fever cases were reported from the Western Province and the most affected area with the highest number of reported cases is Colombo District (21,732) followed by Gampaha (17,228), Ratnapura (6,073), Kandy (5,958), Kurunegala (5,925), Kalutara (5,586) and Batticaloa (4,135).

Related: Australia to assist Sri Lanka in dengue battle

Preliminary laboratory results have identified Dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2) as the circulating strain in this outbreak. Although all four DENV have been co-circulating in Sri Lanka for more than 30 years and DENV-2 has been infrequently detected since 2009.

Find a selection of New York City Passes for all budgets on Viator

The current dengue fever outbreak occurs in a context of massive heavy rains and flooding and is currently affecting 15 out of 25 districts in Sri Lanka where almost 600,000 people have been affected. Heavy monsoon rains, public failure to clear rain-soaked garbage, standing water pools and other potential breeding grounds for mosquito larvae attribute to the higher number of cases reported in urban and suburban areas.

Related: