News

Dengue caused 58 deaths last year

Published

1 year ago

2024/01/13

Thilina Walpola

Dr. Sudath Samaraweera

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The number of dengue cases detected in the country increases twice a year based on the monsoon season, Dr. Sudath Samaraweera, Director of the National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU), says.

Dr. Samaraweera said that the number of reported patients increased in the middle of the year and at the year end.

“There were very few reported cases in September, but the numbers spiked in October, November and December. There were over 11,000 cases in December alone.”

Dr. Samaraweera added that health officials feared that a similar number of cases would be reported in January 2024. This is why a dengue eradication week was declared from 07 January.

“There were over 88,000 cases in 2023, but only 58 deaths were reported. This was the lowest death rate since 2001, i.e., how many have died out of 100 cases.”

He went on to say that at least half the dengue cases each year are reported from the western province.

“Most cases are reported from Colombo, and Gampaha usually comes in second. However, the current monsoon affects the North and East more and in December, the second-highest dengue cases were reported from the Jaffna District. There were a lot of cases in the Kandy district as well.”

Dr. Samaraweera pointed out that a lot of cases are reported from the Kandy Municipal Council area.In December 2023, on average, there were about 1,000 dengue patients admitted to hospitals each day, he said.

“We have dealt with more patients in hospitals in the past. So we have seen these, and we have learnt. The health system is ready to absorb a large number of patients,” he assured.

Dr. Samaraweera said that they have actively taken steps to control dengue. In the coming months, it will also be dry. Therefore, there will be a rapid decrease in cases within the next two to four weeks.

Entomologist of the NDCU, Sakuntala Janaki, said that they have identified 71 MOH areas with a high risk of dengue. These are areas with a high number of dengue patients and a high density of dengue mosquitoes, she said, assing that containers that are discarded haphazardly account for about 20 percent of dengue breeding sites.

“With the North Eastern monsoon, Jaffna district receives a lot of rain. We did several mosquito eradication programmes in the North in December, too. We checked various premises and found that there were mosquito breeding sites on almost all public premises. This is the same in the Western province. We found mosquito breeding sites in about 25 percent of the houses in Jaffna. This is different in the Western province. We usually find dengue breeding sites in only between 10 and 15 percent of the houses in the Western province.”

Janaki said the dengue mosquito passes through four stages in its life, i.e., egg, larva, pupa and adult. The first three stages are in water, and fumigation targets the adult dengue-infected mosquito who lives out of water, she said.

“This is why our key strategy is to destroy the dengue breeding sites,” she said.

All News Advertisement

Up Next

Govt. increases Cost of Living allowance for government servants

Don't Miss

Sri Lanka to provide a morning meal for all pre-school children this year

Thilina Walpola

Click to comment

News

Pant, Rahul centuries set England 371 to win at Headingley

Published

6 mins ago

2025/06/24

Priyan

KL Rahul gets a hug from Rishabh Pant after completing his century (Cricinfo)

England will need 371 to win the first Test at Headingley after India were dismissed for 364 in their second innings late on day four. The hosts will return on Tuesday needing 350 more, after Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett negotiated the first six overs of the chase without alarm to close on 21 for 0.

Only once have India lost when defending a total in excess of 350, but that anomaly within a 59-match sequence came on these shores, against a previous iteration of this England side. Three years ago, during the first summer of Baz and Ben, England broke their own record for a chase, scything down 378 for the loss of just three wickets at Edgbaston.

If successful, the effort at Headingley would be their second highest. But India should have asked more from their opponents. Fine centuries from KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant – his second in the match – bossed England for most of the day. But upon Rahul’s dismissal for 137 after Pant had earlier made 118 – his fourth century in England, equalling the record for the most by a wicketkeeper in the country – a familiar collapse ensued.

Having managed just 24 between the last five wickets on day two, the last six on day four managed just 31. From 333 for 4, India were 364 all out in 71 balls, with four balls in succession from Josh Tongue that accounted for three wickets as he lived up to his nickname “The Mop” for a knack of cleaning up lower orders. Having removed Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj back-to-back, Tongue knocked out Jasprit Bumrah’s middle stump. Just as he did in the first innings, a previously wicketless set of figures was polished by India’s lower order, thus eventually finishing with 3 for 72.

Yet again, India failed to take an England win out of the equation, and perhaps most frustrating will be the fact that Rahul and Pant had done all the hard work. Their different approaches to the job at hand were reflected in the 202 and 130 deliveries, respectively, they took to reach three figures. A stand of 195 for the fourth wicket began after skipper Shubman Gill failed to effectively ride the bounce of a steepling ball from Brydon Carse that seamed into the right-hander, and was played on to the base of his own off stump.

It was a typical Rishabh Pant century which included 15 fours and three sixes (Cricinfo)

With Carse on song and Chris Woakes enjoying the favourable conditions following short morning showers prior to the 11am start, India shut up shop, scoring just 63 runs in the first session. The key was just losing the one wicket, though it should have been more.

Rahul was given a life on 58 as Harry Brook, the beneficiary of three lives in his innings of 99, repaid the favour with a drop at gully when Rahul attempted a second consecutive guide to the deep-third boundary off Tongue. And though Pant was not offered a similar gift, he did push his luck with an unnecessarily chaotic start to his innings.

The left-hander charged Woakes and skewed over the cordon off his second ball. He had done exactly the same to get off the mark on his way to 134 in the first innings – advancing at Ben Stokes second ball – but had made far better contact then. Pant then moved to 15 with a mow across the line for a fortuitous boundary down to fine leg that had Shoaib Bashir interested. Three deliveries later, he was subject to a voracious lbw appeal attempting his patented fall-away ramp.

Umpire Paul Reiffel gave it not out, and England’s review proved him right, with an inside edge. But it was enough of a warning for Pant to control himself a little more. His next 16 runs came from 36 deliveries, as he and Rahul managed to get to the break with their stand intact on 61.

Joe Root consoles Harry Brook after he dropped KL Rahul, England vs India, 1st Test, Leeds, 4th day, June 23, 2025

Joe Root consoles Harry Brook after he dropped KL Rahul on 55 (Cricinfo)

Rahul calmed Pant down, who himself knew he was taking things a little too far. What followed was a far more composed and an impressively devastating afternoon from India, as both batters dragged England all over the field and left Stokes unsure who to turn to at certain points.

Rahul was his usual serene self on the drive, unwilling to miss out on anything drivable – particularly as the pitch was starting to show uneven bounce. He wore three blows to the top hand, but used it strongly to push a two through the covers to move to his eighth overseas century. It was his sixth outside of Asia as an opener, with only Sunil Gavaskar ahead of him (15).

Pant’s celebration was similarly subdued by his own standards, remaining upright this time but promising Gavaskar, who was there in the stands, the first innings front-flip would make another appearance soon. His record suggests there will be indeed a next time. Pant accelerated upon passing fifty, taking 44 off 25 deliveries to move to 95.

The journey from there to 100 took 22 balls more, though he made up for lost time by smashing Joe Root for four, six and four in the very next over. An attempt to do the same to Bashir resulted in a catch for Crawley at long-on.

Bashir celebrated like he had won the battle, but he really had not given Pant was aiming for the stand in which he had sent Bashir earlier for back-to-back sixes. Both he and Rahul had just started tucking into the rookie offspinner. Karun Nair then reverse swept Bashir for four, taking himself off a pair and moving India’s lead beyond 300.

By this point, England were naturally keen to slow the game down, and India were not exactly in a hurry. A steady stand of 46 off 77 balls between Rahul and Nair spoke of a lack of real urgency, even if such accumulation at close to four runs an over would work just fine.

The issue, though, was how front-loaded the runs are in this visiting batting card. So when Carse got another to lift to remove Rahul – playing on again, this time on to middle stump – and Nair gifted Woakes a return catch (his first dismissal of the match) in the space of 11 deliveries, suddenly the end of the India innings at least was in sight.

Up stepped Tongue for his second feasting on rabbit pie, before a bit of cat-and-mouse with the final pair as Ravindra Jadeja looked to protect No.11 Prasidh Krishna. Jadeja was doing a good job, and starting to find boundaries; Tongue was flipped to the stands at deep square leg from outside off, before a bumper was pulled fine for four. Alas, Prasidh, tempted by Bashir, lifted high to Tongue at deep midwicket in the very next over to cap India’s lead at 370.

What could have been an awkward 30 minutes for England was anything but, the tension cut by Crawley with back-to-back fours in the fourth over – the second being an airy flash over the slip cordon. There will be plenty more strikes in anger on day five. England, of course, believe they can chase these. Only the weather will prevent them from trying.

Brief scores:

England 465 and 21 for 0 in 6 overs (Zak Crawley 12*, Ben Duckett 9*) need another 350 runs to beat India 471 and 364 (KL Rahul 137, Rishabh Pant 118; Josh Tongue 3-72, Brydon Carse 3-80)

(Cricinfo)

News

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights meets PM

Published

37 mins ago

2025/06/24

Priyan

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Volker Türk met Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, at the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday (23).

The Prime Minister welcomed the UN High Commissioner and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to working constructively with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). She noted that the recent political transition marks a significant shift in Sri Lanka’s political culture, rooted in a historic mandate received from all communities.

The Prime Minister outlined the Government’s focus on three key pillars: alleviating rural poverty, advancing digitalization, and pursuing legal and political reforms alongside the necessary social transformation and institutional changes. She reiterated the Government’s commitment to protecting and promoting the full spectrum of human rights, including social, educational, health, and economic rights, and emphasized that reconciliation remains a priority, supported by strengthening domestic mechanisms such as the Office for Missing Persons (OMP), the Office for Reparations (OR), and the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR).

High Commissioner Volker Türk expressed appreciation for Sri Lanka’s continued engagement and reaffirmed the importance of collaboration in advancing human rights, democratic governance, and national reconciliation.

The meeting was attended by Marc-André Franche, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, and other officials from the United Nations. The Sri Lankan delegation included Pradeep Saputhanthri, Secretary to the Prime Minister; Ms. Aruni Ranaraja, Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment & Tourism; and senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

News

Governor of South Australia pays courtesy call on PM

Published

1 hour ago

2025/06/24

Priyan

Ms. Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia, paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, on Sunday (22 June) at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Welcoming the Governor, the Prime Minister recalled the longstanding friendship and cooperation between Sri Lanka and Australia, particularly in the sphere of education. Discussions focused on strengthening bilateral collaboration with an emphasis on education reform, vocational training, and institutional partnerships.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister briefed the delegation on the Government’s priority to deliver outcomes that address the immediate needs of the people in light of the recent economic and political challenges. She elaborated on ongoing education reforms, including strengthening higher education policy and regulating non-state higher education institutions, alongside reforms in vocational education and the introduction of vacation streams in schools.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)