Dengue surge: Around 700 patients a day strain hospitals

Colombo, June 25 (Daily Mirror) - Hospitals are facing severe pressure as dengue infections surge across the country, with around 700 patients being reported daily based on the latest weekly figures, Doctors’ Trade Union Alliance for Medical & Civil Rights, Chairman Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa said today.

Addressing a media briefing in Colombo, he said data from the National Dengue Surveillance System showed that dengue cases in 2026 had increased fourfold compared to the previous two years.

He said the number of dengue patients had exceeded 5,000 per week by the 24th week of 2026, which was more than three times higher than the peak of around 1,500 weekly cases recorded in 2025.

Dr. Sanjeewa said dengue cases had shown a sharp increase from around the 18th week of this year, despite infections usually declining before the June-July monsoon period.

“This indicates that dengue control efforts have failed,” he said, claiming that hospitals including children’s hospitals and general hospitals were struggling with bed shortages and a shortage of medical staff.

He questioned the implementation of the “Cuban system” for dengue control, which was discussed earlier this year between the Ministry of Health and a Cuban delegation.

“Door-to-door control activities and dengue prevention programmes were widely discussed, but the current situation shows there has been no effective implementation,” Dr. Sanjeewa said.

He also raised concerns over delays in official dengue death statistics and called for greater transparency regarding the impact of the outbreak.

The Doctors’ Trade Union Alliance urged the Government to immediately launch a large-scale dengue control programme, reveal details of the implementation and spending related to the Cuban approach, and provide urgent supplies of doctors, nurses, medicines and rapid diagnostic test kits to government hospitals.