COLOMBO, July 26 -- The US Embassy in Sri Lanka has launched a Public Health Pest Control and Vector-Borne Disease Response program in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) to strengthen Sri Lanka's capacity to prevent, detect and respond to dengue amid the country's ongoing outbreak.

The initiative is funded through the US Department of Defence's Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid (OHDACA) program and brings together experts from the US Army Pacific (USARPAC) and the US Army's 18th Theatre Medical Command with officials from Sri Lanka's Ministry of Health.

The program focuses on sharing expertise in preventive medicine, disease surveillance, entomology and integrated vector mana...