DERBY, United Kingdom — So far in 2026, Sri Lanka has experienced the worst outbreak of dengue fever by case count since 2017, with 77,000 cases and 56 deaths. DENV-2, which spreads faster and causes more severe symptoms than other strains of the disease, accounts for more than 75% of infections.
Sri Lanka’s fight against dengue fever has taken on a new method. In July 2026, the government enlisted the military to use drones to identify breeding hotspots in hard-to-reach areas, such as rooftops of schools, homes and construction sites. Authorities identified and eradicated 11,000 breeding sites and fined an additional 4,000 premises for failing to remove breeding grounds.
The United States (U.S.) Embassy in Sri Lanka and the nation’s Ministry of Health established the new Public Health Pest Control and Vector-Borne Disease Response program in July 2026. It received funding from the U.S. Department of War’s Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid program. Chargé d’Affaires Jayne Howell said the partnership is meant to “strengthen Sri Lankan communities for years to come.”
What is Dengue Fever?
An infected Aedes mosquito transmits dengue fever through its bite; the mosquito is found in tropical and subtropical climates. Most cases occur in South and Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean due to their warm temperatures and high humidity. The disease can cause high fevers, headaches, muscle and joint pains, nausea and rashes. Many cases are asymptomatic or resolve within a week or two, but others can lead to internal bleeding and quickly become fatal.
Contracting one strain of the disease does not protect against another infection and instead can cause more severe symptoms. Kapila Kannangara, director of Sri Lanka’s National Dengue Control Unit, told BBC Sinhala that a person infected by one strain “could still get dengue again if infected by a mosquito carrying another,” and that reinfection “could mean…an even more serious infection.” This makes developing a vaccine incredibly challenging, particularly as there are four distinct types of dengue fever.
Why Has it Impacted Sri Lanka so Severely?
Sri Lanka’s fight against dengue fever intensified due to Cyclone Ditwah, the country’s worst natural disaster, which hit in November 2025. Debris and stagnant water left in its aftermath allowed infected mosquitoes to breed at unprecedented rates. Kannangara told the New York Times that “there was a lot of garbage and breeding sites in the environment after the cyclone, and it took local government authorities a lot of time to clear them out.” After more than 1,000 landslides and destruction to infrastructure and health facilities, Sri Lanka has been ill-equipped to deal with the outbreak. The World Bank estimates that losses are as high as $1.4 billion.
The natural disaster and dengue outbreak come at a time of national financial fragility. Decline in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of international trade led to severe economic decline. By 2022, inflation had reached 50% and many were experiencing power cuts and fuel shortages. Mass street protests eventually toppled the government the same year, and the country has been attempting to recover ever since.
Sri Lanka’s Healthcare System
The economic crisis and Cyclone Ditwah have had a compounded impact on Sri Lanka’s healthcare system. Sri Lanka lost more than 1,400 doctors to emigration between 2022 and 2024, straining an already short-staffed health system. As part of the terms of the International Monetary Fund bailout for the crash in 2022, the country is repaying debt and pursuing a primary surplus. In June 2025, the Government Medical Officers’ Association stated medical stores had run out of 180 essential medicines. For a healthcare system already stretched, the record cases of dengue fever have brought it to its knees.
Dr. Lalindra Dias of Negombo Hospital said he expects the current surge to level off before easing in August, though he cautioned that the severity of this year’s outbreak made such forecasts difficult.
The Use of Military in Response to Health Threats
While using drones is a new approach, using the military in Sri Lanka’s fight against dengue fever is not. In 2025, the Ministry of Health reported inspections by police, the armed forces and the Civil Security Department at more than 323,000 premises, which led to nearly 3,000 legal cases.
Critics of these methods, as reported by the Tamil Guardian, argue the approach treats victims of an inadequate healthcare system and collapsed economy as malicious harborers of a dangerous disease, targeting and fining individuals rather than addressing the root causes of the outbreak.
What Else is Sri Lanka Doing?
Sri Lanka’s fight against dengue fever extends beyond enlisting the military and using drones to identify breeding hot spots. Dr. Kapila Kannangara from the National Dengue Control Unit reports that the government has added beds to hospital wards and extended working hours of staff to try and cope with the outbreak. The government has asked patients with milder symptoms to stay home and manage symptoms themselves.
Shalini Aloka Perera, 23, told news sources that “the doctor asked me to stay at home because my platelet count had not fallen too much. There are too many patients in the hospitals.”
The National Dengue Control Unit has also identified 162 divisions as high-risk areas for transmission, mainly urban centers.
Why is it Getting Worse?
Rising cases in Sri Lanka are indicative of a global trend caused by climate change. The World Health Organization reports a 30-fold increase in cases in the last 50 years and categorizes the disease in the top 10 of global health threats. Infected mosquitoes are moving into Europe and the Mediterranean as temperatures rise, while longer and wetter monsoons give them more time in the right conditions to breed. A disease once confined to tropical and subtropical environments now threatens nearly half the world’s population.
Looking ahead
Using drones to identify breeding hotspots is an important step in Sri Lanka’s fight against dengue fever. However, some worry that the method is in lieu of constructing a permanent, resilient system that authorities do not deploy only during emergencies. The expense of such a method draws funding away from rebuilding the nation’s healthcare system to ensure it is better equipped longer term. With natural disasters such as Cyclone Ditwah likely to become more frequent, and as infected mosquitoes migrate into new climates due to global warming, the development of a sustainable model of response is becoming more urgent.
– Louise Nethercott
Louise is based in Derby, UK and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.
Photo: Pixabay