Rapid Expansion Forces to combat dengue: Health Ministry | Page 3438 | Daily News

Rapid Expansion Forces to combat dengue: Health Ministry

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The Health Ministry has set up 10 Rapid Expansion Forces (REFs) to address the issue of dengue in the country, Health Services Director General Dr. Palitha Mahipala said.

He said a three-day intensive dengue control programme is to be launched tomorrow, following the successful completion of the first one between June 30 and July 2.

Dr. Mahipala said that six of the ten REF teams would be based in Colombo and work the district, and four would be based in Gampaha and attend to that district.

He said that teams would be tasked with responding immediately to the threat of dengue, by ‘fogging’ an area the radius of a half a kilometer from where a dengue patient is reported.

Dr. Mahipala said the three-day intensive dengue control programme to begin tomorrow would focus on 60 high-risk areas in the country.

A total of 750 inspection teams will move from house to house, inspecting premises for dengue breeding sites, he said. One of three days will be allocated to inspect school premises. 

Inspections teams found 22,000 premises with mosquito larvae, in the one million premises inspected the last few weeks. Legal action had been taken against many of those mosquito breeders, Dr. Mahipala said.

 

(File photo)


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