Water sources supplying Deniyaya town and schools have been confirmed unsafe by a team of specialist doctors assigned to investigate the viral illness spreading in the area, the Director of Health Services for the Southern Province, Dr. N.G.S. Panditharathna, said on Sunday. Fifty patients are now reported to have been infected with the spreading viral fever, and steps have been taken to chlorinate the water sources implicated, he added.
The confirmation is the first time officials have formally identified the area’s water supply as the vector behind the outbreak. Earlier provincial health updates had pointed to enteric viruses spread mainly through contaminated water, but had stopped short of declaring named sources unsafe.
Against that backdrop, Southern Province Governor Susiripala Manawadu has ordered four schools in the Deniyaya Education Zone closed on Monday (May 11) and Tuesday (May 12) to allow disinfection of premises and equipment and to give authorities time to expand public-awareness work on hygiene and water safety. The decision was taken after a telephone discussion between the Governor and provincial health officials.
The schools affected are Deniyaya National School, Deniyaya Saint Matthew’s Bilingual School, Deniyaya Rajapaksa Vidyalaya and Siddhartha Primary School in Pallegama.
Deputy Health Minister Hansaka Wijemuni had earlier said work to clean drinking-water sources was being intensified and urged residents not to panic, adding that authorities currently see no risk of the illness spreading beyond the affected pockets.
The new water-source finding extends the disruption that began when the same four schools were shut on May 7 and 8 over a sudden rise in absenteeism. Health authorities had since traced the outbreak to enteric viruses spread mainly through contaminated water, and the Government Medical Officers’ Association on Friday characterised the cluster as viral meningitis affecting 45 to 50 children admitted to Deniyaya Base Hospital over the past two to three weeks.
The Governor’s office is expected to review the situation again before classes resume on Wednesday.
In a later update on Monday evening, NewsFirst reported that health authorities now suspect the patients may be suffering from meningitis — an infection of the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord that can be life-threatening if untreated. A special team from the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health has arrived in Deniyaya to investigate the cluster further. Doctors warned that meningitis can cause permanent damage to the nervous system if not treated promptly, with symptoms including severe headache, high fever, neck stiffness, light sensitivity, vomiting and drowsiness.
Sources: NewsFirst — meningitis suspected, NewsFirst — water sources confirmed unsafe, NewsFirst — schools closed.
