As discussed in a recent TropIKA.net article, which focused on Zanzibar, some malaria-endemic areas have now reached a position where it would be technical feasible to eliminate the disease as a public health within the next few years. Now, Sri Lanka’s health minister Maithripala Sirisena is reported by the country’s Daily News as saying that malaria will be eradicated* there by 2015.

The minister pointed out that annual malaria case numbers have declined in recent years, whereas ten years ago 200,000 cases per year were reported. He went on, however, to comment on the Sri Lanka’s growing problems with dengue - like malaria a disease transmitted by mosquitoes:

“We are facing another problem. That is the dengue fever. Over 35,000 dengue patients were reported in 2009 and 360 people died due to this. The present dengue situation is similar to that of 2009. Over 16,000 dengue cases were reported and over 90 people have died in 2010. This is very serious problem.”

He said that dengue control could not be achieved by the government alone; it was a “social responsibility”.

*The term disease “eradication” is usually taken to mean a complete absence of cases, whereas reducing locally-acquired cases to zero is described as “elimination”. It is likely that Sri Lanka has set elimination as a target.