Jun 16, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena has called an emergency meeting of the Presidential Task Force on Dengue Prevention to address the sharp rise in the dengue cases and deaths in the country.

A meeting of the health officials will be held on Monday to probe the causes for the sudden increase in dengue cases to determine whether there were any lapses in the preventive measures adapted by the health ministry to control the spread of the disease recently.

The secretaries of the 12 ministries of the Task Force and the officials of those ministries are called to attend the meeting. The officials are to consider on the need to include various sectors to the task force to combat the spread of the disease, the state-run radio SLBC reported.

According to the Epidemiology Unit figures so far in the year there have been 12,165 dengue cases and 65 deaths from the disease. Out of the 65 deaths, 25 have been reported from Colombo district, the most populated district in the country.

Country's hospitals, especially the National Children Hospital in Colombo, have been overcrowded recently with hundreds of dengue patients every day.

The resurgence of the mosquito-borne menace has made the Health Ministry to warn the public of an impending epidemic stage at the end of the month.

The Health officials have sought the help of media to warn the public of an epidemic and to point out the importance of preventing the spread of the disease by taking measures to eradicate dengue mosquito larvae breeding places.

The Secretary to the Media and Information Ministry W.B.Ganegala has requested the media institutions to broadcast programs within the next two weeks to enlighten the people about the dengue threat, the SLBC said.