EU experts in Sri Lanka to study dengue

A team of dengue experts from the European Union has arrived in Sri Lanka to conduct a surveillance study on the dengue epidemic, an official said here on Thursday. According to the Ministry of Health, the team led by Prof. J. Gubler of the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore includes specialists from Heidelberg University in Germany, Umea University in Sweden, and Boston University in the Unnited States. The team of specialists had held discussions with the officials of the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry on the European Union - funded Dengue Disease Surveillance Project (DDSP), ministry spokesman W.M.D Wanninayake told media. The European Union has agreed to provide 1.1 million Euro over the next four years to implement the project. Due to the increasing spread of dengue in the world, the European Commission has decided to provide funding support to set up a multi-country project in the developing countries. The project aims to detect and identify areas with a high risk of dengue spread and identify dengue patients early. In January 2012, more than 3,000 dengue cases were reported in Sri Lanka.