Inspectors found mosquito larvae or potential breeding sites at 30,919 premises between January and the third week of August, the National Dengue Control Unit has said.
Entomologist Sakunthala Janaki said 355,683 premises across 5,863 Grama Niladhari divisions were inspected over that period, NewsFirst reported. That works out to a positive finding at roughly one in every twelve premises checked.
Where the larvae were found
The unit gave a breakdown by type of premises:
- Homes — 306,960 residential premises inspected, breeding sites found at 26,234, about 8.5 per cent.
- Government institutions — 2,298 inspected, breeding sites at 579, about 25 per cent.
- Schools — 1,416 inspected, breeding sites at 555, about 39 per cent.
On those figures, a school was more than four times as likely to be harbouring a breeding site as a private home, and a state institution roughly three times as likely — even though homes account for the overwhelming majority of inspections and of the raw total.
Waste and standing water
Accumulated waste and stagnant water were identified as the major contributors to mosquito breeding, the unit said.
Community Physician Dr Prasheela Samaraweera said instructions have been issued to local authorities through the Presidential Secretariat on waste management, with the aim of reducing breeding.
The context
The figures land during a lull in the caseload rather than a crisis. August closed with about 10,155 cases, barely a third of July’s 29,964, taking the year past 96,000 with the death toll at 72.
The control unit has nonetheless warned that the risk has not passed, noting that mosquito populations rise before case numbers do. Fifty Medical Officer of Health divisions remain classified as high-risk, and the Education Ministry has told schools to run control programmes before the new term — an instruction the school inspection rate gives some weight to.
