Sri Lanka troops to battle deadly dengue mosquitoes as cases rise

Sri Lanka was deploying the military to contain the spread of mosquito-borne dengue fever, as health authorities warned on Tuesday that hospitals are being overwhelmed with more than 1,000 admissions daily. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's office said army, navy and air force officers would join a special unit to identify and destroy mosquito breeding sites.

Nearly 50,000 cases have been reported this year, with 29 deaths, although that is still far below the 2017 peak, when 186,000 patients and 440 deaths were reported.