Sri Lanka has recorded 6,900 cases of leptospirosis so far this year, a senior health official said, with four districts designated high-risk zones for the infection.
Dr. Thushani Dabarera, a consultant community physician at the Epidemiology Unit, gave the figure at a news conference held at the Health Promotion Bureau on Tuesday, Hiru News reported.
She named Ratnapura, Kegalle, Galle and Matara as the districts identified as high-risk zones for the disease.
Context
Leptospirosis — widely known in Sri Lanka as rat fever — is a bacterial infection spread through water or soil contaminated with the urine of infected animals. It enters the body through cuts, broken skin or mucous membranes, which is why transmission rises during flooding and paddy cultivation.
The announcement comes during a sustained wet spell. LankaNewz reported on 2 November that health experts had warned of a surge in waterborne illness in the two weeks after floodwaters recede, with leptospirosis among the diseases named. Heavy rain has continued since, with the Meteorological Department warning of further falls above 100mm and flood advisories in force on the Gin Ganga and Attanagalu Oya.
The four districts named sit in the wet zone and the south-west, areas that have borne much of the recent rainfall.
Sourcing note: Ada Derana carried a parallel warning on rat fever risk during the monsoon, but the page could not be retrieved or date-verified, so it is not cited here. Published case counts for leptospirosis in Sri Lanka vary widely depending on the period and the basis of the count, and only the figures given at this week’s briefings are reported above.
Update — 12 November: a death toll, and a joint advisory
A second newsroom has now carried the alert, and it supplies the death toll this article recorded as missing.
Around 300 people die of leptospirosis each year in Sri Lanka, the Daily Mirror reported at 9.54 a.m. on Thursday under the byline of Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama. It puts this year’s case count at nearly 7,000 and names the same four districts — Ratnapura, Kegalle, Galle and Matara — as carrying the highest numbers.
The two filings agree. Hiru’s 6,900 and the Daily Mirror’s “nearly 7,000” are the same figure stated to different precision, not a discrepancy.
Who is most at risk
The alert identifies paddy farmers and people engaged in outdoor work as the most exposed groups, particularly during heavy rain and flooding. It was issued jointly by the Epidemiology Unit and the Health Promotion Bureau, and is tied to the start of the Maha cultivation season coinciding with the monsoon.
On transmission, the advisory states that the bacteria enter water and soil through the urine of infected rats and other domestic and wild animals, and that infection follows when contaminated water or mud reaches the body through cuts, wounds or broken skin.
What the authorities advise
- Consult a medical professional about preventive medication
- Wear rubber boots and gloves when working in contaminated environments
- Cover cuts with waterproof dressing before any exposure to water or mud
- Seek medical attention immediately for fever, severe headache, muscle pain or redness of the eyes
Still not reported: neither filing gives a comparison with the same period last year, a breakdown of cases by district, or a figure for deaths recorded so far in 2026 as against the annual average.