COLOMBO, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Ministry of Science and Technology is exploring the possibility of controlling the dengue virus through the use of drone technology, the ministry said in a statement here on Monday.
State Minister of Technology and Innovation Thilanga Sumathipala was quoted by the media as saying that discussions were held recently with stakeholders and leading experts on how drone technology can be used for the prevention of the dengue virus, which has had a serious impact on the health and development of Sri Lanka in recent years.
The ministry said that according to a recent study by Sri Lankan researchers, drone technology had been successfully used for aerial inspections to identify mosquito breeding sites and transmit the information to public health inspectors.
Earlier this month, Sri Lanka's Health Ministry said that dengue cases in the country doubled in 2019 compared to the previous year, with 90 deaths and over 99,000 cases reported nationwide.
In 2018, 51,659 people were affected by the mosquito-borne virus with 58 deaths reported.
