News
On the trail of dengue control: Three-day drive reveals gains and gaps
View(s):By Sajeniya Sathanandan
Assisted by Medical Officers of Health (MOHs) and Senior Public Health Inspectors (SPHIs), the programme saw the implementation of different activities, including clean-up efforts, container removal, and Shramadana campaigns by community leaders and the staff of the ministry’s engineers department.
CMC's MOH Dr Dammika Adikariwattage and PHIs on an inspection of Colombo city and below an awareness programme being conducted at Royal College Colombo. Pix by Indika Handuwala and Akila Jayawardena
Colombo’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr K. Sriprathapan, said the most critical step was to remove small containers, like yoghurt cups, where water collects and mosquitoes breed. Fumigation and spraying are ineffective if the breeding sites are not eliminated. Specifically, this method is used to kill adult mosquitoes, and chemicals are sprayed to kill larvae.
The programme also included the conduct of health education and awareness campaigns at educational institutions—from pre-schools to universities—with dengue inspections also being carried out.
On the last day of the programme, dengue inspections and source reduction were extended to state and private institutions.
However, chemical application or fogging was designated as a component of the control efforts. Also joining the programme were environmental police officers who were assigned to assist MOH officers.
The programme was mainly focused on the Cyclone Ditwah-affected districts of Colombo, Gampaha, and Kalutara—districts where several environmental issues have led to an increase in mosquito breeding, particularly in abandoned places with poor garbage collection and blocked drains.
The Colombo Municipal Council’s MOH, Dr Dammika Adikariwattage, said a digital platform called the National Communicable Disease Surveillance System (NCDSS) allows hospitals to enter patient data immediately upon diagnosis, with the information being studied by epidemiologists and the Chief Medical Officer to identify clusters and high-risk areas.
Through this system, Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) are able to conduct house-to-house and institution-level inspections. If breeding sites are found, the CMC issues red notices or takes legal action.
One of the main obstacles in carrying out the health initiative, according to officials, is the attitude of people, who think that since they pay taxes, the main responsibility lies with the local councils.
Another impediment is the lack of equipment and vehicles such as tractors and loaders for garbage and bulk removal.
Yet another issue is the mixed electoral system, which elects many councillors with little influence among residents, making the programme’s implementation less effective, the officials said.
Dengue is a seasonal disease with two annual spikes: one in the middle of the year (May–July) and another at the end of the year (November–January).
About 95% of cases are asymptomatic, meaning many people do not know they are infected.
A dangerous stage of the fever is when the temperature drops; patients may think they are recovering, but this is often when internal bleeding begins.
Most dengue-related deaths are attributed to delayed hospital admission because patients misidentify their symptoms as a common flu.
On the final day, the Sunday Times joined the programme at the Regimental Centre of the Sri Lanka Army Women’s Corps and at Arcade Independence Square. At the Regimental Centre, the dengue-prevention team found minor damage to outdoor drains. Army officers, citing a lack of labour, agreed to fix them on Saturday.
When Dr Adikariwattage asked the senior Arcade officer why the areas had not been cleaned, the officer replied that it was the responsibility of the Urban Development Authority (UDA), not theirs, and added, ‘What is there to be done?’
Dr Adikariwattage told the Sunday Times that the matter would be referred to the courts, as the senior person did not sound responsible.
Dr Pricilla Samaraweera, Consultant Community Physician of the National Dengue Control Unit, said high-risk areas often include construction sites and areas like Cinnamon Gardens, where the proximity to major hospitals increases the “viral load” in the mosquito population.
According to the latest statistics, 1,878 dengue cases have been detected across the country for this year until January 7.
While dengue rates typically increase during the northeast monsoons and decrease by the end of January as vector density falls, this year has been different due to adverse weather. However, health officials expect the trend to decline soon as weather patterns change.
Entomologists and health entomology officers proactively collect and identify mosquitoes. This allows the unit to identify high-risk localities up to two weeks or even a month before an outbreak occurs. They identify the two specific species of mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) that spread the disease.
The NCDSS system can identify hotspots down to the Grama Niladhari division level. Currently, the Western, Sabaragamuwa, and Northern provinces are identified as high-risk areas.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) has volunteered to support the National Dengue Control Unit through an Early Action Protocol. This protocol is currently focused on the Western Province, Jaffna, and Kandy—regions that have the highest or significantly high case numbers, Dr Samaraweera said.
Because the government lacks sufficient human resources for house-to-house inspections and awareness, trained Red Cross volunteers are deployed. Volunteers never work alone; they are integrated into teams supervised by a PHI from the local MOH office.
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!