Sri Lanka's worst dengue outbreak in nearly a decade, air force drones deployed against mosquito breeding sites
Sri Lanka is battling its worst dengue outbreak in nearly a decade: 76,044 infections and 53 deaths since January, per Reuters. Daily hospital admissions have risen from around 750 to 950-1,000 as a more virulent strain spreads. The air force is flying drones to find mosquito bre
Sri Lanka is in the grip of its worst dengue outbreak in almost a decade, with hospitals reporting a sharp rise in daily admissions as a more virulent strain of the virus spreads across the country. Since January, Sri Lanka has recorded 76,044 dengue infections and 53 deaths, according to Reuters. Daily hospital admissions have climbed from around 750 to between 950 and 1,000, a level health officials say is exposing the strain on the country's public health system. In response, Sri Lanka has deployed air force drones to track stagnant pools of rooftop water left by monsoon rains, working alongside military and police personnel who are inspecting homes, construction sites and schools for mosquito breeding grounds. The current outbreak remains below the scale of Sri Lanka's 2017 epidemic, which infected more than 100,000 people and killed over 400, but the reliance on military resources to support the health system signals how seriously authorities are treating the current spread. For a country whose hospitals are already stretched, a further rise in admissions would test capacity directly, not just case counts.