Is chickenpox worse than usual in Colombo?

No. Chickenpox in Colombo is below its usual for these weeks.

10 cases a week, against a usual 16.

0102030usual range2026JanAprJulOct

Read from these four weekly reports by Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka:

  • 20–26 Jul 2026 (Vol 53 No 31)
  • 26 Jul–2 Aug 2026 (Vol 53 No 32)
  • 3–9 Aug 2026 (Vol 53 No 33)
  • 10–16 Aug 2026 (Vol 53 No 34)
The 8 reports behind "usual"
  • 20–26 Jul 2024 (Vol 51 No 31)
  • 27 Jul–2 Aug 2024 (Vol 51 No 32)
  • 3–9 Aug 2024 (Vol 51 No 33)
  • 10–16 Aug 2024 (Vol 51 No 34)
  • 19–25 Jul 2025 (Vol 52 No 31)
  • 26 Jul–1 Aug 2025 (Vol 52 No 32)
  • 2–8 Aug 2025 (Vol 52 No 33)
  • 9–15 Aug 2025 (Vol 52 No 34)

The publisher's own list of its weekly reports

How this is worked out. The last four weeks against the same four weeks of the two years before, for Colombo alone. What "usual" means.

When does chickenpox usually peak in Colombo?

Usually around February and March: it peaked then in 8 of the last 12 years.

2014: peaked in week 92015: peaked in week 112016: peaked in week 102017: peaked in week 102018: peaked in week 132019: peaked in week 102020: peaked in week 102021: peaked in week 142022: peaked in week 512023: peaked in week 432024: peaked in week 382025: peaked in week 33JFMAMJJASOND

One year's peak2025Now and the next ten weeks

From 12 years of weekly reports, 2014 to 2025: each dot is the month that year's chickenpox peaked in Colombo.

How does Colombo compare with the rest of Sri Lanka?

Colombo is 12th of the 14 districts with enough cases to compare, each against its own usual.

usual⅛×8×32×country 1.2×Anuradhapura: 2.0×Badulla: 1.4×Colombo: 0.7×Galle: 1.3×Gampaha: 0.9×Hambantota: 0.3×Kalmunai: 1.0×Kalutara: 1.6×Kandy: 1.6×Kegalle: 1.1×Kurunegala: 1.0×Matara: 0.7×Nuwara Eliya: 1.1×Ratnapura: 0.6×Colombo

Across Sri Lanka as a whole, chickenpox is at 1.2× its usual; in Colombo it is 0.7×.

What is chickenpox?

A very catching illness caused by the varicella-zoster virus. The virus stays in the body afterwards and can wake up years later as shingles.

Signs
An itchy rash of small blisters, often starting on the face and scalp, that turn into scabs over about a week. Fever and tiredness may come first.
How it spreads
Through coughs and sneezes, or touching fluid from the blisters. People can pass it on from a day or two before the rash until every blister has scabbed.
How to protect yourself
Keep away from people who have it, don't share towels or cups, and wash hands. Someone with chickenpox should stay home until all spots have crusted and dried.
Get medical help
Get medical advice for babies, pregnant women, adults and people with weak immune systems, who can get very ill. Seek help for breathing trouble or infected sores. Never give children aspirin.

In Dooram's words, from the World Health Organization. Source: WHO: Chickenpox (questions and answers), read 8 October 2026. General information, not medical advice.

Chickenpox in every country Dooram reads ›

A reported case means someone reached a clinic and a form was filed, so these count reports, not everyone who was ill.

Sources. Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, weekly report. District maps: Survey Department of Sri Lanka, published as a Common Operational Dataset by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.