A Sri Lankan court threatened a mosquito repellent factory manager with six months in jail for failing to destroy mosquito breeding areas on company premises to stop the spread of dengue fever, an official said Tuesday.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are common vectors for dengue virus and chikungunya virus. In areas where both viruses cocirculate, they can be transmitted together. During a dengue outbreak in Delhi in 2006, 17 of 69 serum samples were positive for chikungunya virus by reverse transcription

The number of dengue deaths has passed 127 and counting. The affected persons have exceeded 9000. In 2005 the number of patients that died from dengue was 28 while there were 5994 dengue patients.

Mumbai Veteran actor Dilip Kumar, who was admitted to Lilavati Hospital with suspected malaria infection on Sunday morning, was said to be recovering on the second day of hospitalisation on Monday. The doctors, however, said that they now suspect a dual malaria-dengue infection.

Cuba will airlift a stock of BTI (Bacillus Thuringenesis Israelensis) - a bacteria species, today to control the rapidly spreading dengue epidemic that has claimed 155 lives while the number of dengue cases reached a staggering 12,800 mark by yesterday, the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry said.

Latest Health Ministry statistics show that the number of dengue cases had risen to over 12,300 with 152 deaths.

Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry sources said the Ministry was specially concerned with the situation in 68 divisional secretariats and was continuing with its ongoing measures to eradicate dengue and other mosquito borne diseases.

Sri Lanka plans to import BTI bacteria,( Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) commonly use as a bioinsecticide to destroy mosquito larvae from Cuba next week to control the fast spreading dengue epidemic in the country.

Health Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva said that he has already ordered a stock of BTI bacteria from Cuba after holding a long discussion with the Cuban Ambassador in Colombo.

Two senior Ministers yesterday in Parliament called for the government to introduce the Cuban bio-control method to arrest the Dengue epidemic which had now become a global issue.

Construction and Engineering Services Minister Rajitha Senaratne and Minister of Science and Technology Prof. Tissa Vitharana made this remark at an adjournment debate on Dengue in the House.

Two more dengue deaths have been reported in last 24 hours in the twin-cities, taking the toll to three in the last one month.

The Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry last month launched a massive program to combat dengue in 68 divisional secretariat divisions with the patronage of MOH offices, PHIs and Civil Defence Committees. Under this program, in Colombo district alone 23,100 houses were inspected and 6,138 of them were found to be mosquito breeding places.

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