Sri Lanka’s dengue-control effort is set to enter a new phase, with Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa announcing that a programme to curb the disease using the Wolbachia method will begin next month.
The Minister said the project’s pilot phase had already been completed successfully, and that the national roll-out would proceed without disrupting existing dengue-control activities. The Wolbachia technique introduces a naturally occurring bacterium into mosquito populations to reduce their ability to transmit dengue and other viruses, and has been deployed in several countries as a long-term suppression tool.
The announcement comes as Sri Lanka continues to grapple with a severe dengue season, with case numbers and deaths running well above earlier-year levels and health authorities repeatedly flagging high-transmission districts.
In a parallel move, the Health Ministry is preparing to launch Clinical Management and Standard Guidelines on Dengue Surveillance and Prevention for all universities in the country. The guidelines are intended to standardise how dengue cases are detected, reported and managed across higher-education institutions, many of which have faced outbreaks and temporary class suspensions during the current wave.
Officials say the twin measures — biological vector control through Wolbachia and tighter institutional surveillance — are aimed at bringing down transmission ahead of the next seasonal peak.
