Is dengue worse than usual in Ratnapura?

Yes. Dengue in Ratnapura is three times its usual for these weeks.

186 cases a week, against a usual 71.

0200400usual 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 Ratnapura alone. What "usual" means.

When does dengue usually peak in Ratnapura?

Twice a year: most often around May and July (10 of 19 years), and around November and December (5).

2007: peaked in week 312008: peaked in week 272009: peaked in week 252010: peaked in week 312011: peaked in week 512012: peaked in week 332013: peaked in week 182014: peaked in week 252015: peaked in week 72016: peaked in week 302017: peaked in week 282018: peaked in week 282019: peaked in week 462020: peaked in week 522021: peaked in week 22022: peaked in week 212023: peaked in week 492024: peaked in week 202025: peaked in week 18JFMAMJJASOND

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 dengue peaked in Ratnapura.

How does Ratnapura compare with the rest of Sri Lanka?

Ratnapura is 19th of the 21 districts with enough cases 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×Ratnapura

Across Sri Lanka as a whole, dengue is at 4.7× its usual; in Ratnapura it is 2.6×.

What is dengue?

An infection caused by the dengue virus, carried by mosquitoes. Most people have mild or no illness, but it can become severe.

Signs
High fever, bad headache, pain behind the eyes, aching muscles and joints, feeling sick, vomiting, swollen glands and rash. Usually lasts two to seven days.
How it spreads
Through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, which bites mainly in the daytime. Rarely, through blood transfusions, organ donation, or from mother to baby.
How to protect yourself
Cover up, use nets, window screens and repellent. Empty, clean and cover anything holding water weekly. A vaccine is licensed in some countries for children aged 6 to 16 in high-risk areas.
Get medical help
Get help immediately, often just after the fever drops, for bad stomach pain, repeated vomiting, fast breathing, bleeding gums or nose, blood in vomit or poo, or cold pale skin. Use paracetamol, not ibuprofen or aspirin.

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

Dengue 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.