Sri Lanka dengue cases reach 98,912, with 75 deaths reported in 2026
DISEASE
In brief
- What happenedSri Lanka's National Dengue Control Unit reported 98,912 dengue cases and 75 deaths in 2026 as of midnight on 20 September.
- How many affectedAffected persons: 98,912 · Deaths: 75 · Dengue cases reported in 2026: 98,912 · as of midnight 20 September 2026
- What help is neededThe national case-fatality rate was 0.076 per cent, and 34 Medical Officer of Health areas were classified as high risk during epidemiological week 37.
WorldsAid verification
A WorldsAid editor reviewed this record against 3 attributed sources, cleaned feed formatting and checked the event, place and reporting date. 10 human-impact figures were separated from the narrative and dated where the source allowed. Earlier observations remain in the evidence history instead of being silently overwritten.
What changed
Updated verified snapshot
This record was first dated 2026-09-20 and last verified 2026-09-21T07:00:30Z.
Situation
Sri Lanka's National Dengue Control Unit reported 98,912 dengue cases and 75 deaths in 2026 as of midnight on 20 September. The national case-fatality rate was 0.076 per cent, and 34 Medical Officer of Health areas were classified as high risk during epidemiological week 37. The Western Province accounted for 52,001 cases, or 52.57 per cent of the national total. Gampaha recorded 20,969 cases and Colombo District recorded 19,471.
The previous weekly surveillance snapshot, covering 7–13 September, recorded 97,637 cases and 74 deaths. The 20 September daily update therefore adds 1,275 cases and one death to the retained evidence history. Week 37 recorded 1,156 suspected cases across 25 districts, compared with 1,152 in week 36, a 0.35 per cent increase. The average midnight total across 73 sentinel hospitals was 447 dengue patients. These are surveillance figures and may be revised when delayed hospital reports, duplicate records or inter-district transfers are reconciled.
National and local health teams continue surveillance, vector-control activity, clinical care and risk-area monitoring. People in affected areas should follow current Ministry of Health advice on removing mosquito breeding sites and seek prompt medical assessment for symptoms consistent with dengue.
Verified figures
- Affected persons
- 98,912 retained at 2026-09-21T07:00:30Z
- Deaths
- 75 retained at 2026-09-21T07:00:30Z
- Dengue cases reported in 2026
- 98,912 · as of midnight 20 September 2026 retained at 2026-09-21T07:00:30Z
- Dengue deaths reported in 2026
- 75 retained at 2026-09-21T07:00:30Z
- Case-fatality rate
- 0.076% retained at 2026-09-21T07:00:30Z
- Cases reported in September
- 3,421 through 20 September retained at 2026-09-21T07:00:30Z
- High-risk health areas
- 34 Medical Officer of Health areas · week 37 retained at 2026-09-21T07:00:30Z
- Western Province cases
- 52,001 · 52.57% of the national total retained at 2026-09-21T07:00:30Z
- Week 37 suspected cases
- 1,156 across 25 districts · 0.35% increase from week 36 retained at 2026-09-21T07:00:30Z
- Average midnight hospital total
- 447 dengue patients across 73 sentinel hospitals · week 37 retained at 2026-09-21T07:00:30Z
What we knew when
- WorldsAid record entered the retained historical dataset.
- WEEK 37 SURVEILLANCE · 97,637 CASES · 74 DEATHS preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
- DAILY SURVEILLANCE · 98,912 CASES · 75 DEATHS · 34 HIGH-RISK HEALTH AREAS preserved as a dated, source-linked observation. Source
Earlier figures are never replaced by later values; additional observations are retained as new ledger entries.
Provenance
This page renders the last verified WorldsAid cache directly in HTML. It does not treat generated summaries as primary evidence.
Cached dataset: worldsai_drup771.sql.gz
Record SHA-256: f7e9ca666a96682e943a4deac16acac0e435893970c152a39096c49b98f8bf57