斯里蘭卡已有近300人死於登革熱

The worst-ever outbreak of dengue fever in Sri Lanka has killed nearly 300 people with the number of cases rising rapidly.

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Health reports that the number of dengue infections has climbed above 103,000 since the start of 2017, with 296 deaths. The number of cases this year is already nearly double the number of dengue infections recorded in all of 2016, when 55,150 people were diagnosed with the disease.

The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are rapidly scaling up emergency assistance to help contain the outbreak in the South Asian island nation.

“Dengue is endemic here, but one reason for the dramatic rise in cases is that the virus currently spreading has evolved and people lack the immunity to fight off the new strain,” says Dr. Novil Wijesekara, Head of Health at the Sri Lanka Red Cross.

Compounding the crisis, recent monsoon rains and floods have left pools of stagnant water and rotting rain-soaked trash—ideal breeding sites for mosquitoes. Ongoing downpours and worsening sanitation conditions raise concerns the disease will continue to spread.

Dengue is common in South Asia, especially during the monsoon season which runs from June to September, and if untreated, it can be lethal.

The International Federation of Red Cross said it had released new disaster emergency funds on Monday to help about 307,000 people in three districts where dengue was rampant.斯里蘭卡有史以來最嚴重的登革熱疫情，已造成近300人喪生，感染人數還在迅速上升。

斯里蘭卡衛生部報告說，自2017年年初以來，登革熱感染人數已經超出10萬3000千人，296人死亡。2016年斯里蘭卡被診斷感染登革熱的患者人數是5萬5千150人，今年的患者人數已經幾乎翻了一番。

斯里蘭卡紅十字會、國際紅十字會和紅新月會迅速增加緊急援助，協助斯里蘭卡控制疫情的繼續擴散。

斯里蘭卡紅十字會的一位負責人說：“登革熱是這裏的地方病，但是感染病例迅速上升的原因之一是，眼下擴散的病毒已經變異，人們缺少抵抗變異病毒的免疫力。”

最近季風季節帶來的雨水和洪水造成的地面積水和被雨水浸泡的腐爛垃圾是蚊子絕佳的繁殖環境，這種情況使登革熱危機雪上加霜。持續降雨和不斷惡化的衛生條件讓人們擔心，疫情還會進一步擴散。

登革熱在南亞很常見，特別是在6月到9月間的季風季節，如果得不到治療，可能有生命危險。

國際紅十字會說，他們星期一已經發放了新的災情應急資金，幫助登革熱疫情最嚴重的三個區的30萬7千人。