Sri
Lanka recorded 100,127 dengue infections and 78 deaths by 1 October 2026. Cases
in the comparable period are about 2.6 times the 2025 level. Monthly counts
have fallen sharply since July, but the country is entering its second
rainfall-linked transmission window (October to January). This brief sets out
the scale and geography of the outbreak, the climate and service-delivery
drivers, and the absence of a specific drug treatment, and proposes actions for
the current lull.
1. Scale of the outbreak
The National Dengue Control Unit recorded 97,637 cases in its comparison period, against 37,858 in the same period of 2025: an increase of about 158%. Reported deaths imply a crude case fatality of roughly 0.08% (78 of 100,127), a figure to be read cautiously because reported cases depend on testing and notification.
