Leptospirosis

Caught from water or soil carrying animal urine. It rises with flooding and with paddy work, so it falls mostly on farming areas.

Is leptospirosis worse than usual anywhere?

At or below its usual in every country that reports it.

Leptospirosis is an infection caused by a germ (bacterium) that lives in animals such as rats, dogs, pigs and cattle, and passes to people.

Signs: Sudden fever, headache, muscle pain (especially in the calves), red eyes and yellow skin. Severe cases can harm the kidneys, heart and lungs.
How it spreads: When water, mud or soil holding infected animals' urine touches cuts or the eyes, nose or mouth. Floods raise the risk. It rarely passes between people.
How to protect yourself: Avoid wading or swimming in flood water or dirty water. Wear boots and gloves, cover cuts with waterproof plasters, and wash after contact with mud or water.
Get medical help: See a doctor quickly for fever after contact with flood water or mud. Antibiotics treat it, so early care matters.

In Dooram's words, from the World Health Organization. Source: WHO Disease Outbreak News: Leptospirosis – the United Republic of Tanzania (2022), read 8 October 2026. General information, not medical advice.

No district is above usual.

Each district against itself. A large district always has more cases than a small one, so each is compared only with its own usual.

Sri LankaUsually around November and December: it peaked then in 12 of the last 19 years.

Sources. Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, weekly report.