Colombo (AsiaNews) – According to data released by the National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU), Sri Lanka has so far recorded over 76,044 cases in 2026, with the disease continuing to spread rapidly across the country. On 21 July alone, 2,895 new cases were reported. In response to the worsening situation, 162 areas under the jurisdiction of health officials (MOH) have been identified as high-risk zones for contracting the virus.
Health officials have emphasised that dengue cases have risen sharply in recent months, following the onset of the south-west monsoon. In May, 8,590 cases were reported, whilst in June the number more than doubled, reaching 21,537. The NDCU also stated that 20,666 cases had already been reported in the first 19 days of July. In 2026, 56 dengue-related deaths were reported, with a case fatality rate of 0.07 per cent. According to the WHO, the number of cases reported globally has risen from around 500,000 in 2000 to 14.4 million in 2024.
In Sri Lanka, the Western Province remains the hardest-hit region, accounting for over 50 per cent of infections nationwide, with the districts of Gampaha and Colombo recording the highest number of patients. According to the NDCU, the Ministry of Health is currently running surveillance programmes in 63 divisions at high risk of dengue. Sri Lanka is also deploying military drones to identify pools of stagnant water on rooftops and other mosquito breeding sites.
Data from the experts
Medical consultants Dakshitha Alwis and Linidu Dissanayaka told AsiaNews that “the Western Province accounts for over 50 per cent of all reported cases, with 40,009 infections, representing 52.61 per cent of the national total. The Southern Province has recorded 11,707 cases (15.40 per cent), followed by the Central Province with 6,431 cases (8.46 per cent). At district level, the Gampaha district has reported the highest number of cases, with 15,910, followed by Colombo with 15,110”.
Furthermore, of the cases reported in the Colombo district, 3,073 were recorded in the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) area. Other districts reporting high numbers of dengue cases include Matara (5,330), Kandy (5,111) and Kalutara (5,010). “The authorities have urged the public to eliminate mosquito breeding sites near their homes and workplaces. Anyone experiencing a fever or flu-like symptoms is also advised not to self-medicate and to seek medical attention without delay,” the advisers added.
“Due to high population density, rapid urbanisation, construction activities, environmental conditions favourable to mosquito breeding and increased human mobility, the Western Province – particularly the districts of Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara – has consistently recorded the most severe dengue outbreak,” they say. “Dengue transmission in Sri Lanka shows a clear seasonal pattern, with two annual peaks corresponding to the south-west and north-east monsoon periods.”
A systemic response
In response to the growing impact of dengue, the Dengue Control Unit was established within the Ministry of Health in 2005; this was subsequently transformed into the NDCU in 2012 to strengthen national coordination of dengue prevention and control activities.
According to medical experts Nilantha Wickramaratna and Sanjani Attanayaka, “dengue was serologically confirmed for the first time in Sri Lanka in 1962, whilst the first documented epidemic was reported in 1965. Between 1965 and 1968, an island-wide outbreak caused by the DENV-1 and DENV-2 serotypes resulted in 51 reported cases and 15 deaths”.
Meanwhile, dengue infections continued to occur intermittently throughout the 1970s and 1980s. However, severe dengue and dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) were relatively rare prior to 1989. “Since 1989, Sri Lanka has experienced regular dengue epidemics with an increase in the scale, geographical spread and severity of the disease. The emergence of new genotypes of the dengue virus and changes in circulating serotypes have been linked to several severe epidemics in the country”, they explain. From the early 2000s onwards, dengue became firmly established as an endemic disease in Sri Lanka, with cases reported in all districts of the country. Major outbreaks were recorded in 2002, 2004, 2009, 2017 and 2019, whilst the largest outbreak in history occurred in 2017, with over 186,000 cases reported nationwide.
