Sri Lanka has mobilised military personnel and drones to combat its most severe dengue outbreak in nearly a decade, which has killed 56 people and infected more than 77,000 since January 2026. Air force drones are being used to identify stagnant water pools, while soldiers assist with house-to-house inspections.
Health authorities attribute the surge to Cyclone Ditwah, which struck in December 2025, leaving widespread standing water. Officials say about 75% of cases are linked to the more virulent DENV-2 strain. Hospitals have added beds and extended duty hours to manage patient inflows, particularly after recording over 21,600 cases in the first 20 days of July alone.
Authorities have cleared nearly 11,000 breeding sites and fined over 4,000 premises. Experts warn cases could rebound in November with the next monsoon. The crisis approaches the scale of 2017's epidemic, which infected more than 186,000. Globally, the World Health Organization says reported dengue cases surged from 500,000 in 2000 to 14.4 million in 2024.