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Canines to be trained to detect mosquito larvae

04 Aug 2021

By Dinitha Rathnayake Police dogs are to be trained to trace mosquito larvae in order to combat the spread of dengue, according to Police Media Spokesman Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) Ajith Rohana. Two police dogs, named Johnny and Roma, have already undergone six months of training to identify mosquito larvae, and will be used for this purpose. “The Police have been using dogs to trace suspects involved in different crimes for a long period, and now we are going to use these two dogs for environmental operations in the future to identify mosquito larvae,” SDIG Rohana noted. A total of 31,162 suspected dengue cases were reported during 2020, while 10,956 suspected dengue cases were reported to the Epidemiology Unit from all over the island to date since January 2021. Approximately, 37.9% of these dengue cases were reported from the Western Province. The Epidemiology Unit has noted that it is important to seek medical attention in the event of fever and to conduct the relevant laboratory investigations at least by day three of the illness. According to the Health Ministry’s National Dengue Control Unit, dengue is a viral infection transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito, and has a wide spectrum of infection outcomes, ranging from asymptomatic to symptomatic. Symptomatic illness can vary from undifferentiated fever (viral syndrome), dengue fever, dengue haemorrhagic fever, and dengue with unusual manifestations. Patients should seek medical advice if experiencing severe vomiting, abdominal pain, increased thirst, drowsiness, excessive sleepiness, loss of appetite, abnormal bleeding manifestations, and reduced urine output.


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