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Summary The government began nationwide dengue eradication program on Monday.
More than 10,000 security forces have been deployed in Sri Lanka to help destroy mosquito-breeding grounds in a bid to contain the dengue fever that has killed more than 74 people and infected 15,000 others so far this year.Health ministry official Dharma Wanninayake says the troops and police officers are joining other government officials in the nationwide dengue eradication program that began Monday.Dengue fever is a flu-like illness spread by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. The disease often spikes during the annual monsoons, when the rains leave puddles of stagnant water where the insects breed.Wanninayake says infections have increase because residents have grown more careless about cleaning their properties and eliminating mosquito breeding grounds.
