Jun 21, Colombo: Public Health Inspectors of Sri Lanka say that the mosquito-borne disease, dengue fever is spreading throughout the island from the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo.

The Public Health Inspectors' Association has called on authorities to take measures to eradicate dengue from the capital city first.

Head of the Association, Upul Rohana says it is futile to try to eradicate dengue from the island until it is addressed in Colombo.

He has observed that during the last 6 months of the year, 12,336 suspected dengue cases and 75 deaths have been reported to the Epidemiology Unit from all over the island and 3,161 cases and 27 deaths were from the Colombo District.

He has pointed out that dengue has reached epidemic levels in Colombo.

The Sri Lankan capital is the most populated city in the country with over 2.5 million people.

According to Rohana, the dengue eradication programme launched in 2010 is ineffective today and the Health Ministry has so far failed to study the issue and draw a proper plan to fight dengue.

He has further noted that the garbage disposal is not carried out properly by the local government bodies and the breeding of dengue mosquitoes has therefore increased.

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