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Quick takes: Dengue surge in Sri Lanka, New World screwworm in Texas goat, polio in 3 nations
News brief
Today at 12:36 p.m.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
Dengue
New World Screwworm
Polio
Quick takes: Dengue surge in Sri Lanka, New World screwworm in Texas goat, polio in 3 nations
News brief
Today at 12:36 p.m.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
Dengue
New World Screwworm
Polio
- Sri Lanka is experiencing its worst dengue virus outbreak in nearly a decade, with 80,114 cases and 59 deaths recorded as of July 23, according to media reports. The outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus has intensified in recent months, with more than 24,000 cases reported in July alone. Sri Lankan health officials say the surge in dengue cases is linked to new mosquito breeding grounds created by a large cyclone that hit the country in December. The government has asked the military to use drones to look for new breeding sites on the rooftops of homes, schools, and construction sites.
- The US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed a New World screwworm (NWS) infection in a goat in Sutton County, Texas, bringing the total number of NWS cases since the outbreak began in early June to 42. All of the cases except one have been in Texas; the other was in New Mexico. Only 10 of the case are active, which means disease mitigation efforts are ongoing in the affected animals.
- Afghanistan reported four cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) this week, according to the latest update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. All four cases had paralysis onset in June, bringing the country’s total WPV1cases this year to 15. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries where WPV1 routinely circulates. Elsewhere, Nigeria reported two circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases with paralysis onset in June, bringing its 2026 total to 30 cases, and the Central African Republic reported one cVDPV2 case, bringing its total for the year to four cases.