Sri Lanka identifies 12 high-risk districts for rat fever spread

COLOMBO, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan health officials have identified 12 districts as high-risk areas for the spread of leptospirosis, also known as rat fever, said a minister on Friday.

Minister of Health and Mass Media Nalinda Jayatissa told parliament that these districts include areas where a large number of people are engaged in agriculture, adding that the disease mainly spreads among paddy farmers during the cultivation season.

The minister said the government has sufficient stocks of drugs used to prevent and treat rat fever to last for 12 months.

Over 10,000 cases of leptospirosis were reported in 2024, and about 200 people die from the disease each year, he said.