斯里兰卡53人因防蚊不力被逮捕

因未能清理居住环境周边的积水和蚊子滋生地，导致登革热病菌传播，斯里兰卡首都科伦坡日前有53人被警方逮捕，他们将面临罚款及最高6个月的入狱处罚。科伦坡警方发言人称，这是警方第一次因为防蚊不力大规模抓人。斯里兰卡今年已有74人死于登革热，感染人数高达1.5万。卫生官员表示，登革热感染人数上升是因为居民不注重周边环境的清理，雨季期间很可能成为蚊子的滋生地，而登革热病菌多通过东南亚常见的白纹伊蚊传播。为了防范登革热的传播，斯里兰卡警方、军方以及卫生官员上周日查看了科伦坡的一万余户住宅。另外，政府还派出1万名安保人员搜寻各类蚊子滋生场所并与公众一同进行清理工作。

Police arrested 53 people for failing to eliminate stagnant water and other mosquito breeding grounds as Sri Lanka tries to prevent dengue fever, which has infected thousands already this year.

Police, army and health officers searched 11,500 houses in the capital Colombo over seven hours Sunday, police spokesman Ajith Rohana said. Those arrested for not cleaning up their surrounding environment face fines and up to six months in jail.

He said this is the first time police made such a large number of arrests from Colombo for failing to clean mosquito breeding places.

Dengue fever has killed 74 people this year and infected 15,000. Health officials say it has increased because residents have become more careless about cleaning their properties and eliminating mosquito breeding grounds.

The flu-like illness is spread by the Aedes mosquito and spikes during the annual monsoons, when the rains leave puddles of stagnant water where the insects breed. In Sri Lanka, the southwest monsoon that usually begins in May lasts until September.

Dengue starts suddenly with a high fever, rash, severe headache and pain behind the eyes and in the muscles and joints. The severity of the joint pain has given dengue the name "breakbone fever." Nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite also are common.

The government said last week 10,000 security forces had been deployed to help dengue eradication efforts this month. They help to search houses and buildings to detect breeding places and join other public workers to clean public buildings and places.