AFP-datelined Colombo dispatch; centres the Cyclone Ditwah debris link and health-official quotes

Reports more than 44,000 cases and 28 deaths since January, including five children. Cases nearly doubled from 5,651 in April to 10,638 in the first two weeks of June. Over half are in the western region, with 9,429 in Colombo. Health official Dr Prashila Samaraweera attributes the surge to mosquito breeding in debris left by Cyclone Ditwah in late November.

“A lot of debris was in our environment, so we noticed a lot of mosquito breeding places. We noticed this increase after the cyclone.”