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# Flu Cases Climb in Sri Lanka, and Officials Warn Those Most at Risk
- URL: https://www.jaffnamonitor.com/flu-cases-climb-in-sri-lanka-and-officials-warn-those-most-at-risk/
- Published: 2026-10-15T05:19:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T05:20:17.000Z
- Author: Asela Kuruluwansha.
- Tags: October  2026

**By Asela Kuruluwansha**

**COLOMBO, Sri Lanka —** More than a third of hospital patients tested for respiratory illness in Sri Lanka recently were found to have influenza, health officials said, as they urged pregnant women, young children and older people with chronic illnesses to take extra care.

Samples from patients admitted to hospitals with fever, cough, cold and body aches were tested at the Medical Research Institute in Colombo, and about 35 percent were positive for the flu, said Dr. Palitha Karunapema, director of the Health Ministry’s Epidemiology Unit.

Dr. Karunapema said most people recover within three or four days and there was no reason for alarm. He advised those who fall ill to rest, stay away from crowded places and keep sick children home from school.

The virus spreads through droplets from infected people and through close contact. Dr. Karunapema urged the public to follow the Health Ministry’s guidance on prevention.

Officials single out pregnant women because the flu can be more severe for them. In 2015, an outbreak from June to August killed 75 people in Sri Lanka, 14 of them pregnant women or new mothers, according to the Epidemiology Unit.

The Health Ministry said it was monitoring 20 hospitals daily as part of a program to detect and contain the spread of infectious diseases.