The mosquito-borne disease, which typically spreads during the island nation’s monsoon season, has intensified following Cyclone Ditwah, which struck Sri Lanka in late November and left behind widespread debris that created favorable breeding conditions for mosquitoes.

Data released by the National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) showed infections nearly doubled from 5,651 cases in April to 10,638 cases recorded during the first two weeks of June alone.

“We noticed this increase after the cyclone,” said Dr. Prashila Samaraweera, consultant community physician and spokesperson for the NDCU. “A lot of debris was in our environment, so we noticed a lot of mosquito breeding places, and our entomological indices were high from that time.”

Sri Lanka recorded approximately 51,000 dengue cases throughout 2025, but the pace of infections this year has accelerated significantly. Health officials expect case numbers to continue rising for at least another two weeks before showing signs of easing.

Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa warned on Thursday that a further increase in patient admissions could place severe strain on public hospitals already managing growing caseloads.

More than half of all reported infections have been concentrated in the country’s western region. Colombo, Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, has reported 9,429 cases since January, while eight other districts have each registered more than 2,000 infections.

The fatalities recorded this year include five children, underscoring concerns among health authorities about vulnerable populations.

Officials have warned that the outbreak could approach levels seen during Sri Lanka’s last major dengue epidemic in 2019, when the country reported more than 105,000 cases.

In response, authorities have launched a nationwide cleanup campaign involving schools, residential neighborhoods, construction sites and public institutions. The program, coordinated by health agencies and local government bodies, is scheduled to continue through next week as officials seek to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds and slow transmission.

Nearly 600 children with suspected or confirmed measles have died since March, while hospitals across the country are struggling to cope with hundreds of new admissions each day. Medical facilities remain under severe pressure as doctors attempt to isolate infected patients and prevent further transmission.

Health experts fear large-scale population movement during the Eid holidays could accelerate the spread of the highly contagious disease, particularly in rural areas with limited access to healthcare services.

The outbreak has overwhelmed pediatric wards in several hospitals, prompting renewed calls for expanded vaccination efforts and stronger public health measures to contain the crisis.

The initiative, known as the Big Catch-Up and led by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, concluded in March after a three-year effort to restore immunization coverage disrupted by the pandemic.

By the end of December 2025, the campaign had reached an estimated 18.3 million children aged under five across 36 countries in Africa and Asia, delivering more than 100 million vaccine doses, according to a joint statement. Of those, around 12.3 million children had never received any prior vaccination, while 15 million had not previously been immunized against measles.

Health systems worldwide faced severe disruption during the COVID-19 crisis, leading to missed routine immunizations and a resurgence of preventable diseases including measles and polio. The agencies said the campaign also strengthened national immunization systems by improving their ability to identify children who had previously been missed.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the initiative had helped reverse one of the pandemic’s major health setbacks by reaching children who had been excluded due to service disruptions.However, officials warned that significant obstacles persist.

The agencies highlighted declining foreign aid and widening gaps in routine immunization, noting that measles outbreaks have increased globally, with approximately 11 million cases reported in 2024.Kate O’Brien said growing politicization of vaccines and health issues posed a serious concern, even as trust in frontline health workers remained relatively strong.

Sania Nishtar pointed to the role of social media in amplifying misinformation, saying digital platforms often incentivize the spread of misleading or false content about vaccines.

Ephrem Lemango added that algorithm-driven amplification of anti-vaccine narratives, combined with reductions in global health funding, could undermine progress and risk reversing gains made through the campaign.

Viet Nam has strengthened its pandemic preparedness systems over more than a decade through sustained technical and financial support from the World Health Organization, positioning itself as an increasingly active contributor to regional and global health security efforts, according to a feature report published on April 17.

Central to this progress has been the implementation of the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework Partnership Contribution, which since 2013 has supported the development of coordinated national planning mechanisms.

Vietnamese health authorities have established and continuously updated the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan, alongside a national vaccine deployment strategy, creating a structured framework for emergency response.

Although initially designed to address influenza outbreaks, the preparedness plan provided the operational backbone for Viet Nam’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorities revised the framework in 2023 to incorporate lessons learned from that crisis, further aligning it with evolving public health risks.

Laboratory capacity has also expanded significantly under the programme. Four regional laboratory institutes, including two National Influenza Centres, have enhanced capabilities in viral isolation, molecular diagnostics and genomic sequencing.

These investments enabled rapid adaptation during the COVID-19 pandemic, when laboratory networks were repurposed to support SARS-CoV-2 testing and variant tracking.Officials from the National Influenza Centres said the strengthened systems improved both domestic response capacity and Viet Nam’s contribution to global surveillance efforts.

Laboratory data generated through these facilities has supported international monitoring of respiratory viruses and informed public health decision-making.Surveillance systems have been reinforced through improvements in monitoring influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections.

Enhanced data quality, reporting mechanisms and coordination across institutions have allowed earlier detection of unusual respiratory disease clusters.The system integrates multiple levels of the health sector, including the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur Institutes, provincial Centers for Disease Control, hospitals and laboratories.

This network feeds into global platforms such as the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System and WHO’s RespiMart data-sharing platform.Authorities have moved to institutionalize integrated surveillance covering influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens under the 2026–2035 National Target Programme on Healthcare, Population and Development.

The initiative aims to strengthen early warning capabilities by linking community-level data, clinical reporting and laboratory analysis into a unified system.Viet Nam has also expanded its capacity to assess zoonotic disease risks.

The country adopted the Joint Risk Assessment tool in 2019, enabling coordinated evaluation of health threats across animal and human sectors. In 2024, this mechanism supported responses to two avian influenza incidents, demonstrating cross-ministerial coordination and rapid decision-making.Health officials say these measures reflect a broader effort to integrate public health preparedness into national development planning.

Investments in health security have accompanied Viet Nam’s wider socio-economic growth, with authorities emphasizing the importance of sustained international cooperation.Dr Vo Hai Son, Deputy Director General of the Viet Nam Administration of Disease Prevention, said the country’s progress has been supported in part by long-term collaboration with WHO under the preparedness framework.

He noted that continued engagement with global partners remains essential to maintaining and expanding system capacity.The WHO report highlights Viet Nam’s role in contributing to regional preparedness by sharing surveillance data, strengthening laboratory networks and participating in global health initiatives.

These efforts are expected to support collective responses to future pandemics and emerging infectious diseases.The report indicates that Viet Nam’s preparedness system is now more interconnected and responsive, with improved capacity to detect, assess and respond to public health threats.

Ongoing collaboration with international partners is expected to further enhance these capabilities as the country continues to invest in health system resilience.