By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-13 00:06:09 | Updated at 2025-01-13 02:46:17
2 hours ago
For a week, seven-year-old Nathushika suffered from diarrhoea, vomiting, and a high fever. Her mother, Easwary, was baffled by her daughter’s sudden illness, as no one else in the household was sick and Nathushika had not eaten any outside food.
At the time, Easwary did not realise that her daughter, like many others in their flood-stricken community, had unknowingly been exposed to waterborne disease.
It was the monsoon season in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka, where Nathushika and her family lived. In late November, a cyclonic storm developed off the country’s northeastern coast and by mid-December, floods had killed 16 people and displaced close to 50,000 – affecting almost half a million Sri Lankans in total.
Scientists say climate change is driving these increasingly severe storms and erratic monsoons, turning once-predictable weather patterns into disasters that spread waterborne diseases.
When floodwaters rise, diseases follow, viruses and other pathogens spread through contaminated water and food, said Dr Thilanga Ruwanpathirana, a consultant epidemiologist at the Ministry of Health.
Pregnant women, the elderly, those with chronic diseases, and children are at the greatest risk during such outbreaks, he added.
