Is leishmaniasis worse than usual in Matale?

Yes. Leishmaniasis in Matale is twice its usual for these weeks.

12 cases a week, against a usual 7.0.

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 Matale alone. What "usual" means.

When does leishmaniasis usually peak in Matale?

Twice a year: most often around October and December (4 of 9 years), and around January and February (3).

2014: peaked in week 242018: peaked in week 512019: peaked in week 32020: peaked in week 82021: peaked in week 302022: peaked in week 92023: peaked in week 432024: peaked in week 442025: peaked in week 49JFMAMJJASOND

One year's peak2025Now and the next ten weeks

From 9 years of weekly reports, 2014 to 2025: each dot is the month that year's leishmaniasis peaked in Matale.

How does Matale compare with the rest of Sri Lanka?

Matale is the highest of the 6 districts with enough cases to compare, each against its own usual.

usual⅛×8×32×country 1.2×Anuradhapura: 1.5×Hambantota: 1.3×Kurunegala: 0.9×Matale: 1.7×Monaragala: 1.0×Polonnaruwa: 1.0×Matale

Across Sri Lanka as a whole, leishmaniasis is at 1.2× its usual; in Matale it is 1.7×.

What is leishmaniasis?

Leishmaniasis is caused by tiny parasites carried by sandflies. One kind causes skin sores; a more serious kind, kala-azar, attacks organs inside the body.

Signs
Skin sores, mostly on uncovered skin, that can leave scars. Kala-azar causes fever that comes and goes, weight loss, a swollen belly from a big spleen and liver, and weakness.
How it spreads
Through the bite of an infected female sandfly. Sandflies pick up the parasite from infected people or animals.
How to protect yourself
Sleep under insecticide-treated nets, spray insecticide in homes, and protect your skin from sandfly bites. Early treatment of sick people also helps stop it spreading.
Get medical help
See a doctor for a skin sore that will not heal. Get care quickly for long-lasting fever, weight loss or a swollen belly: untreated kala-azar is nearly always deadly but curable.

In Dooram's words, from the World Health Organization. Source: WHO fact sheet: Leishmaniasis, read 8 October 2026. General information, not medical advice.

Leishmaniasis 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.