Is anything worse than usual in Puttalam right now?

Yes. Dengue is far above usual: 7.0× its usual for these weeks.

Far above usual · 7.0×

121 dengue cases a week, against a usual 17.

0100200usual range2026JanAprJulOctWeek 18 of 2026: 12, as printedWeek 24 of 2026: 29, as printed

Week 18: the Ministry of Health's two reports disagree (12 here, from its Epidemiology Unit; 25 in its National Dengue Control Unit's weekly update). Shown as printed.

Week 24: the Ministry of Health's two reports disagree (29 here, from its Epidemiology Unit; 83 in its National Dengue Control Unit's weekly update). Shown as printed.

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

⅛×usual8×

How this is worked out. The last four weeks against the same four weeks of the two years before, for this district alone. Illnesses with fewer than 5 cases a week here are left out: too few to compare.

Where is dengue worst in Puttalam right now?

33 cases in the week to 13 September, 3.7 times the same week last year.

This local health area was flagged as high-risk that week, most cases first.

  • Wennappuwa11up from 10 the week before
37cases the week before
2,141so far this year, against 539 by now last year

Source: National Dengue Control Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, Weekly Dengue Update, week 37 of 2026. It counts suspected cases and comes out weeks sooner than the weekly report used elsewhere on this page, so its figures are newer and usually a little higher.

What makes the most people ill here?

Dengue: 71 of every 100 reports here this year.

  • Dengue71 in 100
  • Leptospirosis8 in 100
  • Meningitis6 in 100
  • Chickenpox5 in 100
  • Tuberculosis5 in 100
  • 8 others5 in 100

2,343 reports from Puttalam so far in 2026.

Which illnesses are coming into season here?

Nothing is due to peak here in the next three months. January is the next busy season, for dengue.

Usual peak, from 2007 to 2025Next ten weeks

How does Puttalam compare with the rest of Sri Lanka?

Puttalam is 4th of the 21 districts with enough dengue to compare, each against its own usual.

usual⅛×8×32×country 4.7×Anuradhapura: 6.0×Badulla: 7.6×Batticaloa: 3.0×Colombo: 4.0×Galle: 5.3×Gampaha: 6.3×Hambantota: 6.7×Jaffna: 2.5×Kalmunai: 6.5×Kalutara: 7.8×Kandy: 3.5×Kegalle: 5.3×Kurunegala: 3.8×Matale: 2.8×Matara: 7.2×Monaragala: 3.8×Nuwara Eliya: 6.3×Polonnaruwa: 5.0×Puttalam: 7.0×Ratnapura: 2.6×Trincomalee: 2.1×Puttalam

Across Sri Lanka as a whole, dengue is at 4.7× its usual; here it is 7.0×.

Why each district against itself. A large district always has more cases than a small one. Each dot is a district against its own usual, so size drops out.

Where can people get care in Puttalam?

50 government hospitals and clinics, from 32 primary care units.

  • 32Primary care unitsthe first stop for most illnesses
  • 13Divisional hospitalssmall local hospitals
  • 5District and base hospitalslarger hospitals with specialists

Where volunteers on OpenStreetMap have mapped hospitals and clinics. Their map shows where they have been, not everything that exists.

HospitalClinic or doctor

Hospitals named on the map include:

  • darmaraja general hospital
  • District General Hospital
  • District General Hospital Chilaw
  • Base Hospital
  • Base Hospital B Kalpitiya
  • Base Hospital Puttalam

Source: Directorate of Planning, Ministry of Health and Mass Media, Sri Lanka, List of Hospitals and Hospital Bed Data, 2026; map: OpenStreetMap contributors, via the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, licence ODbL 1.0.

How far is care from here?

37% of people live more than an hour's walk from a hospital or clinic.

Walking time to the nearest hospital or clinic, for everyone living in Puttalam. Half of people are within 44 minutes.

  • Within an hour's walk63%
  • One to two hours20%
  • More than two hours17%

And to a larger hospital?

Not shown yet. Every larger hospital that the Ministry of Health's list of its hospitals counts in Puttalam is on the map, but some in the districts around it are not yet, and one of those could be nearer to people here.

Sources: walking times, Weiss and others, Nature Medicine 2020 (Malaria Atlas Project), a model at walking pace from facilities mapped in 2019; where people live, WorldPop 2020; larger hospitals, the Ministry of Health's list of its hospitals (2026).

Can we trust this week's numbers for Puttalam?

Yes, for this week. Puttalam sent figures in 52 of the last 52 weekly reports.

Weekly reports with figures from Puttalam, most recent last

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.