The Centre for Research in Tropical Medicine (CRTM), Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, successfully conducted the Leptospirosis Symposium 2026 on 26th February 2026 at the Department of Forensic Medicine.

Held under the theme:
“Leptospirosis: From Global Perspectives to One Health and Severe Disease Management”
the symposium provided a comprehensive platform to explore the evolving landscape of leptospirosis ranging from its global impact and microbiological foundations to prevention strategies and management of severe disease.

• Prof. Udaya Ralapanawa - Historical and Global Perspectives and Impact on Human Health
• Prof. Nilanthi Dissanayake - The Microbe, One Health, and Prevention
• Emeritus Prof. S. A. M. Kularatne - Severe Leptospirosis Management

• Medical Officers
• Postgraduate Trainees
• Specialists from Medicine, Paediatrics, Emergency Medicine, Anaesthesia & Critical Care, Microbiology, and Allied Health Sciences

The interactive nature of the sessions enabled meaningful knowledge exchange and strengthened clinical understanding particularly relevant to the Sri Lankan healthcare setting.

Participants and interested clinicians can access the lecture here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YWk26Dj0xO4U2iFcUQc4y4g-25LfKSg_?usp=sharing

CRTM remains committed to advancing research, education, and capacity building in tropical medicine, continuing to serve as a hub for impactful academic initiatives and multidisciplinary collaboration.

A team of delegates from the University of Connecticut led by their Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Prof. Kevin Dieckhaus will be visiting Sri Lanka in the upcoming week. They will be visiting the University of Peradeniya and the Infectious Diseases Hospital for several collaborative programs over the week.

We, as the CRTM will be hosting a symposium on Infectious Diseases featuring both local and foreign speakers from the UCONN team. This event where several important topics will be discussed, will be held on the 25th October 2023, from 9.00 am - 12.00 pm at the Medical Faculty Board Room

Participants can register via the following link. Online participants will receive the Zoom link via email.
https://forms.gle/Sryrfce5XgVW6Q1r7

A program was held at the Senate Room with the participation of academic and non-academic staff members of the University of Peradeniya to commemorate the World Rabies Day which falls on the 28th September. The main aim of the program was to increase awareness among university staff on this fatal yet preventable disease

During this one hour session experts from different fields spoke on different aspects of rabies prevention, both in humans and domestic animals. We hope we have laid a stone to the path towards a rabies-free Sri Lanka.

The 3rd Committee Meeting of the CRTM for the year 2023 was held on the 25th September 2023 at the CRTM Office chaired by the Director, Prof. S. A. M. Kularatne. The coordinator, Prof. Chamara Dalugama presented the activities done during the past four months and it was apparent that the CRTM was once again back to life.

The committee members had gave their ideas for future international collaborations, workshops, awareness programs, textbooks, and newsletters that were all included in the CRTM action plan for the last quarter of 2023.

International collaboration is an integral part of the CRTM’s mission. Sharing knowledge is essential for the advancement in medicine. We are extremely delighted to receive a group of international students from China employed in various fields related to health sciences after a long period.

Our capable staff members did an excellent job in conducting an educational session on tropical diseases and nutrition in Sri Lanka. We got some good responses from the participants and were informed that they hope to continue this partnership by sending several more groups of participants in the near future.

Better late than never! The CRTM monthly talk for the month of August that was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances was held on the 8th of September at 12.00 pm in the Faculty Board Room.

Our guest speaker was Dr. Usha Bokalamulla, an experienced medical officer currently working at the OPD at Teaching Hospital Peradeniya who has been working with rabies prevention program for a long time.

The Workshop on Tropical Medicine held on 3 Sundays in collaboration with the PGIMS came to an end with the final session held on the 13th August 2023.

Participants will receive the final assessment via email soon which needs completion before the certificates are awarded.

The inaugural edition of the CRTM newsletter is proposed to be released in the month of August. Your articles are mostly welcome. They will be published upon scrutiny by a panel of reviewers.

The following article types will be considered for publication.

• Feature articles
• Pictures of tropical diseases
• Case reports and case series related to tropical medicine
• Letter to the editor
• Research updates
• Creative writing on tropical medicine

If you are interested in contributing, please contact us via our official email: crtmoffice@med.pdn.ac.lk before the 9th July, 2023.