COLOMBO, March 12 (Chinese media) -- More than 2,000 Sri Lankans have been caught
by Dengue Fever this year, representing a 15 percent increase comparing to the
same period of 2008, health experts said Thursday.
Officials from the Epidemic Unit of the Health Ministry told Chinese media that
2,229 people acquired Dengue from the beginning of this year to March 9 while 17
people died of the disease.
They said the death cases increased sharply this year as only 25 people
were killed by Dengue in the island in 2008.
The capital Colombo is a badly affected area with five people having died
of the epidemic so far this year.
According to medical officials, there are two peak seasons for the
spreading of the epidemic in Sri Lanka each year: one is from October to
December; another is form May to July.
The government has asked the public to clean the environment and destroy
all possible hatchery sites of mosquitoes which are the carriers of the Dengue
viruses.
Dengue (meaning "break bone") Fever is characterized by a sudden onset of
high fever, and may be accompanied by severe headache, pain behind the eyes,
severe joint pain, skin rash, nausea or vomiting, experts said.
Dengue viruses are mosquito-borne viruses that each year infect millions of
persons living in tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
Some infections, especially in children, progress to a life-threatening
disease known as Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever which can lead to death.
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