On the island of Sri Lanka, a disease carried by a creature no larger than a thumbnail has overwhelmed hospitals, mobilized armies, and exposed the fragility of a nation still healing from natural disaster. Since January 2026, more than 76,000 people have fallen ill with dengue fever and 53 have died — the worst such reckoning in nearly a decade — driven by a more aggressive viral strain that does not distinguish between the careful and the careless. In calling upon drones, soldiers, and police to hunt standing water across rooftops and schoolyards, the government acknowledges what public heal
Sri Lanka deploys air force drones to combat worst dengue outbreak in a decade
53 deaths and 76,044 infections since January 2026, with hospitals overwhelmed and patients advised to recover at home due to capacity constraints.