Health experts have warned that waterborne and other infectious diseases could rise over the next two weeks as floodwaters recede across areas hit by minor flooding during the current spell of wet weather.
Senior Consultant Physician Dr Ananda Wijewickrama told the Daily Mirror that leptospirosis, hepatitis A, typhoid and diarrhoeal illnesses could spread once water sources are contaminated, the newspaper reported.
Leptospirosis — commonly called rat fever — is a major concern even after minor flooding, he said. “Minor flooded areas can become contaminated with the urine of infected animals, leading to the spread of leptospirosis.”
Contamination of drinking water during the monsoon could also drive up diarrhoeal disease. Dr Wijewickrama said the effects may not be immediately visible, and that illness could emerge over the following fortnight as water levels drop.
Dengue risk runs alongside
He warned that dengue remains a significant threat during the rainy season, with prevailing conditions creating favourable mosquito breeding grounds.
National Dengue Surveillance Unit figures cited in the report put Sri Lanka at 105,495 dengue cases as of midnight on 27 October, with 81 deaths so far this year.
Gampaha District has recorded the most cases at 22,122, or 20.97% of the national total, followed by Colombo with 20,478 (19.41%) and Kandy with 8,440 (8.00%). By province, the Western Province accounts for 54,866 cases (52.01%), the Southern Province 14,969 (14.19%) and the Central Province 10,603 (10.05%).
What the public is advised to do
Dr Wijewickrama urged preventive measures: securing safe drinking water, maintaining proper sanitation and practising good personal hygiene. He advised the public to avoid contact with muddy floodwater and to drink only boiled or properly treated water.
The warning covers areas where minor flooding has already begun to drain, and comes while the weather itself is still deteriorating: Cyclone Murasu is expected to make landfall on Monday night, with the Met Department’s warning zone widened and fishing and naval communities told to stay out of the affected seas.
That sequencing is the point of the warning. The health risk Dr Wijewickrama describes peaks not during the rainfall but in the fortnight after water levels drop, which places the likely window for any rise in infections after the current system has passed.