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. 2022:44:e2022015.
doi: 10.4178/epih.e2022015. Epub 2022 Jan 10.

Neglecting the neglected during the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of leptospirosis in Sri Lanka

Janith Warnasekara  1 , Suneth Agampodi  1   2
Affiliations

Neglecting the neglected during the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of leptospirosis in Sri Lanka

Janith Warnasekara et al. Epidemiol Health. 2022.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted global health systems and affected the transmission dynamics as well as the surveillance of other infectious diseases. This study described the probable effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the surveillance and control of leptospirosis in Sri Lanka. With 8,579 reported cases and more than 800 estimated deaths, the Sri Lankan public health surveillance system documented the largest outbreak of leptospirosis in Sri Lankan history in 2020. This was the worst infectious disease outbreak Sri Lanka experienced in 2020, but it was neglected, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Leptospirosis; Neglecting; Pandemic; Sri Lanka; Underestimation.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare for this study.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Trend of leptospirosis from 1996 to 2020 (A), monthly leptospirosis cases in 2020 (B), and spatial distribution of leptospirosis (C) in Sri Lanka.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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