Story highlights More than 77,000 infections have been registered this year

The health minister blames a garbage crisis in the country's capital

(CNN) A deadly outbreak of dengue fever has ravaged the island nation of Sri Lanka, killing at least 227 people and infecting tens of thousands.

Experts worry the death toll could yet increase, as the country's health infrastructure struggles to cope with the virus' rapid spread.

"Dengue will get worse as flood waters recede further," Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said in comments made to state-owned media outlet Daily News.

The government has deployed 450 troops in a bid to help combat the spread of the disease.

"We are assisting health inspectors to search for dengue breeding areas and have also set up temporary wards at the Negombo Hospital on the outskirts of Colombo to tackle the issue," Sri Lankan Army spokesman Brigadier Roshan Senevirathana told CNN.