Fifty people have died of dengue fever in the first two months of this year, said the ministry of health.According to Dr. Paba Palihawadana, head of the ministry's epidemiology unit, the most number of fatalities had been reported from Colombo, Gampaha, Vavuniya and Jaffna districts.

Thirty-five of the deaths had occurred in January and the rest in February. Dr. Palihawadana said 8,238 people had been diagnosed of having contracted the mosquito-borne disease during the period.