140 
Malaria in Ceylon 
on the railway, (2) the boutique or small shop keepers, (3) villagers or 
£ ' goiyas,” perennially engaged in tilling and irrigating the rice fields, 
and (4) colonies of Tamil oilmongers engaged in extracting cocoanut 
oil from copra. 
Climate. 
The annual rainfall is 80’5 inches, the wettest months are April, 
May, October and November ; the average mean temperature is 78'8° F. 
about equal to that of Colombo. 
Malaria in Kurunegala. 
I am much indebted to Dr S. T. Gunasekara, who has been resident 
for one and a half years in the town, and who has made a most extensive 
study of the subject, for many facts regarding the epidemiology and 
incidence of this disease, and which he has incorporated in a report 
recently issued (Ceylon, 1913, xxxvn). 
The town of Kurunegala (pronounced Cornygalle) has always borne 
a bad reputation for malaria, as witnessed by the term “ Kurunegala 
fever ” by which malaria is popularly known throughout Ceylon. From 
time to time it has assumed epidemic proportions in the town and has 
been a source of serious loss to the Government and to the planting 
industry. According to the records compiled by Gunasekara the epi¬ 
demics have generally occurred after a season of moderate rainfall 
followed by prolonged drought; such a drought is apt to favour the 
propagation of malaria, firstly by drying up all the natural pools in the 
town and thereby killing off the larvivorous fish, thus affording suitable 
breeding places for anophelines after the rains where they can breed 
undisturbed, and secondly by the hardships which such a drought 
entails and which predispose the poorer natives to relapses of a 
previous infection. 
There are as a rule two malaria seasons in Kurunegala every twelve 
months, each following the Monsoon rains. For the eight years, 1904- 
1911, Gunasekara has constructed a chart showing the incidence of 
malaria in the district, and from which he has been able to arrive at 
several important conclusions as regards the epidemiology of the disease 
in the Kurunegala district. 
The main points are as follows : 
(1) In the years 1906, 1908 and 1911 malaria assumed epidemic 
proportions. 
