Dengue prevention: special national week begins tomorrow across 74 high-risk areas

The Ministry of Health has declared a special national dengue prevention week from November 9 to 14, covering 74 high-risk Medical Officer of Health (MOH) divisions across the country.

The National Dengue Control Unit, the Ministry of Public Administration, the provincial councils and local government ministry, the Clean Sri Lanka secretariat, Sri Lanka Police, the three armed forces and voluntary organisations are joining the programme.

The aim of the initiative is to prevent a possible dengue outbreak amid changing weather conditions, rising dengue risk indicators and the trends of previous severe outbreaks, the ministry said.

During the six-day programme, joint inspection teams will be deployed to identify and destroy mosquito breeding sites, particularly in unoccupied premises. Special cleaning programmes will also be carried out in schools, pirivenas, universities and places of religious worship.

The activities will be coordinated through the relevant MOH offices, and a dedicated operations room will monitor the programme's progress daily. Mosquito-related indicators and recorded cases continue to be tracked to prevent a possible outbreak, said Dr Kapila Kannangara, acting director of the National Dengue Control Unit.

The week was first scheduled for November 2 to 7 but was postponed to November 9 to 14 because of adverse weather, the ministry added.