• 600 new infections per day
• 1,900 cases in Colombo MC region since Jan.

Every year, the script plays out with a tragic, predictable rhythm. The monsoon rains arrive, and within weeks, the headlines are dominated by the same grim statistics of dengue cases.

As of mid-2026, Sri Lanka has already surpassed a staggering 43,000 recorded dengue cases, with health authorities scrambling to manage over 600 new infections daily.

While Sri Lanka’s clinical management of the disease is world-class – the case fatality rate having been kept remarkably low – our preventative strategy seems to have undergone a sort of halt. 

Despite decades of experience, public health infrastructure and municipal frameworks continue to fall short of keeping the Aedes mosquitoes from breeding in our suburban and urban neighbourhoods. The question remains: has a ‘new strain’ of dengue circulating in Sri Lanka uprooted past preventive measures, or have we neglected them ourselves?

The situation at present

According to the latest data available at the National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU), Sri Lanka has 43,559 dengue cases and 27 deaths as of 17 June.

The districts with the largest number of infections included Colombo, Gampaha, Matara, Ratnapura, Kalutara, Galle, and Kandy, while the current fatality rate is at 0.06%.

According to Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Chief Medical Officer of Health (MOH) Dr. K. Sriprathapan, the CMC has documented around 1,900 dengue cases between January and June. However, only around 60% of those cases have been proven within the municipal limits.

“We have about 1,900 cases reported for this year at the CMC up to now, and only 60% of those cases are confirmed. The remaining 40% cases are unverified and untraced due to being wrong addresses or addresses outside the CMC’s jurisdiction, belonging to MOHs outside CMC limits, or due to obstacles in contacting them,” he explained.

However, while the situation remains dire, there is cause for hope. Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) Media Spokesman Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe stated that the death rate was relatively low compared to previous situations, describing it as one positive given the circumstances.

Lack of disposal methods

When contacted by The Sunday Morning, NDCU Consultant Community Physician Dr. P.C. Samaraweera stated that the continuous spread of dengue in urban and suburban communities was mostly due to environmental circumstances that promoted mosquito breeding.

“Dengue mosquitoes breed in containers and they need only a very small amount of water. In most urban and suburban areas, we have a lot of garbage and many places where mosquitoes can breed,” she said.

While acknowledging that human behaviour partly contributed to the situation, Dr. Samaraweera advised against blaming individuals.

“We cannot say it is 100% human negligence. Perhaps about 50% can be attributed to human behaviour, but there are also issues such as the lack of proper waste disposal methods,” she said.

She pointed out that ordinary household habits could unintentionally create breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

“We usually tend to keep things for long-term use, such as buckets and other containers, instead of throwing them away. Sometimes, without our knowledge, rainwater collects in them and creates places that breed mosquitoes,” she explained.

Mitigation efforts

Dr. Sriprathapan attributed Colombo’s low dengue case numbers to the CMC’s ongoing dengue control efforts in collaboration with other stakeholders.

He highlighted that the Colombo city limits under the CMC were not experiencing the same level of dengue prevalence as the rest of the Colombo District. 

“We are having a good level of control; we are representing only 4.7% of cases islandwide,” he said, noting that while the Colombo District accounted for more than 20% of the country’s dengue cases, the CMC region accounted for a much smaller amount.

“We are undertaking daily inspections, fumigation activities, shramadana events, and other cleaning programmes with various stakeholders while also taking legal action. Not only CMC staff, but stakeholders from the environmental Police, armed forces, and ministry officials, among others, are actively holding meetings and participating in programmes and control activities,” Dr. Sriprathapan added.

He further affirmed that no dengue-related deaths had been reported in the CMC’s jurisdiction thus far this year. “Our city is well controlled. Up to now, no deaths have been reported in the CMC area,” he said.

The CMC has also identified schoolchildren and the working-age population as high-risk groups, with them accounting for the majority of the reported cases. 

“The most affected age groups are schoolchildren and the 20–40-year-old working population. We are targeting schools, private institutions, Government institutions, and religious places along with construction sites, which have been identified as highly infected places,” he said, stressing that construction sites had been posing a significant challenge at present.

Dr. Sriprathapan urged the public to be vigilant of their health and seek immediate medical attention upon the appearance of symptoms.

“If someone has a fever persisting for more than two days, it is advisable to seek the advice of a consultant or doctor and get a blood test done. Blood tests are very important. In addition, premises, including homes, schools, workplaces, and religious sites, should be kept clean. Stagnant water collection points must be eliminated,” he said.

Strain on health sector 

Meanwhile, Dr. Samaraweera noted that although health officials did not routinely test every dengue patient to determine the virus type, samples gathered from districts around the country were examined to identify the serotypes that were currently in circulation. “Currently, it’s types two and three,” she said.

Furthermore, she warned of growing public indifference towards the disease. “In 2017, there were around 186,000 dengue cases and 440 deaths. In recent years, however, the number of deaths has declined significantly. Last year, there were only 29 deaths recorded, while only 24 deaths were recorded in 2024. This relatively low death rate has made people believe that dengue is not dangerous,” she said.

She warned that major outbreaks could still place significant strain on the healthcare system and increase the risk of fatalities. “When outbreaks occur, there can be many deaths due to the high number of patients in hospitals and because most dengue patients require close attention,” she added.

As such, she emphasised that dengue prevention required a community-wide effort rather than assigning responsibility to a particular group of people.

“We all have to contribute. It is not only one person, the Government, or one ministry. Everyone has a role to play in preventing dengue,” she stressed.

Dr. Wijesinghe stated that if the health sector was left to navigate the situation alone, it could result in healthcare staff being driven to exhaustion, leading to the possible collapse of the country’s healthcare system.

“Local authorities acting alone won’t work. Public awareness is very important, even though dengue control measures have been declared. We are not satisfied with the level of awareness. The awareness programmes we have at present are not adequate,” he said.

Dr. Wijesinghe noted that multiple stakeholders, such as religious leaders, the armed forces, civil society, schools, and others, needed to be involved in promoting dengue prevention measures.

“Otherwise, the situation will worsen. There’s a high possibility that hospital capacity will be insufficient or that demand will exceed capacity,” he said.

He further noted that studies and forecasts made in 2022 had helped facilitate effective preventive measures, keeping the disease contained.

Dr. Wijesinghe added: “At the moment, we urgently need a centrally guided, integrated system with the involvement of all stakeholders and parties. A national-level action plan is needed to contain dengue.”

New strain?

Speaking to the media recently, Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Hansaka Wijemuni stated that a new strain of the dengue virus was circulating in Sri Lanka, increasing the risk of transmission. He noted that the current virus showed several changes compared with strains previously detected in the country.

Dr. Wijemuni further noted that many people in Sri Lanka may not have been exposed to this variant before, making a larger section of the population vulnerable to infection.

However, NDCU Consultant Community Physician Dr. P.C. Samaraweera addressed concerns over the ‘new strain’ of dengue circulating in the country, stating that it was not a new strain but rather the re-emergence of a serotype that had been dominant during the 2017 outbreak.

“It is not a new strain. We have four dengue virus types: one, two, three, and four. The circulating virus types are two and three. Type two was more prevalent in 2017,” she explained.