Is leptospirosis worse than usual in Matara?

No. Leptospirosis in Matara is at its usual level for these weeks.

7.0 cases a week, against a usual 7.2.

0204060usual 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 Matara alone. What "usual" means.

When does leptospirosis usually peak in Matara?

Usually around October and November: it peaked then in 12 of the last 19 years.

2007: peaked in week 402008: peaked in week 372009: peaked in week 472010: peaked in week 362011: peaked in week 102012: peaked in week 382013: peaked in week 112014: peaked in week 492015: peaked in week 412016: peaked in week 132017: peaked in week 442018: peaked in week 492019: peaked in week 412020: peaked in week 422021: peaked in week 412022: peaked in week 442023: peaked in week 132024: peaked in week 482025: peaked in week 1JFMAMJJASOND

One year's peak2025Now and the next ten weeks

From 19 years of weekly reports, 2007 to 2025: each dot is the month that year's leptospirosis peaked in Matara. The next usual peak is 8 weeks away.

How does Matara compare with the rest of Sri Lanka?

Matara is 3rd of the 12 districts with enough cases to compare, each against its own usual.

usual⅛×8×32×country 0.6×Badulla: 1.0×Colombo: 0.7×Galle: 0.6×Gampaha: 0.5×Hambantota: 1.0×Kalutara: 0.5×Kegalle: 0.8×Kurunegala: 0.6×Matara: 1.0×Monaragala: 0.9×Nuwara Eliya: 0.4×Ratnapura: 0.4×Matara

Across Sri Lanka as a whole, leptospirosis is at 0.6× its usual; in Matara it is 1.0×.

What is leptospirosis?

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.

Leptospirosis 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.