Background Over the last 20 years there have been reports of a form of chronic kidney disease of unknown cause (CKDu) affecting rural communities in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. Valid prevalence estimates, using a standardised methodology, are needed to assess the burden of disease, assess secular trends, and perform international comparisons. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional representative population survey in five study areas with different expected prevalences of CKDu. We used a proxy definition of CKDu involving a single measure of impaired kidney function (eGFR< 60 mL/min/1.7m 2 , using the CKD-Epi formula) in the absence of hypertension, diabetes or heavy proteinuria. Results A total of 4803 participants (88.7%) took part in the study and 202 (6.0%; 95% CI 5.2–6.8) had a low eGFR in the absence of hypertension, diabetes and heavy proteinuria and hence met the criteria for proxy CKDu. The proportion of males (11.2%; 95% CI 9.2–13.1) were triple than the females (3.7%; 95% CI 2.9–4.5). Advancing age and history of CKD among parents or siblings were risk factors for low GFR among both males and females while smoking was found to be a risk factor among males. Conclusions These data, collected using a standardised methodology demonstrate a high prevalence of impaired kidney function, not due to known causes of kidney disease, in the selected study areas of the Anuradhapura district of Sri Lanka. The aetiology of CKDu in Sri Lanka remains unclear and there is a need for longitudinal studies to describe the natural history and to better characterise risk factors for the decline in kidney function. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7117-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Abstract. Sri Lanka reports significantly more cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) cases than visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases, both of which are caused by Leishmania donovani MON-37. A cross-sectional study conducted in an area with a high prevalence of CL prevalent included 954 participants of an estimated population of 61,674 to estimate the number of CL cases, ascertain whether there is a pool of asymptomatic VL cases, and identify risk factors for transmission. A total of 31 cases of CL were identified, of whom 21 were previously diagnosed and 10 were new cases. Using rK39 rapid diagnostic test to detect antibodies against Leishmania spp., we found that only one person was seropositive but did not have clinical symptoms of CL or VL, which indicated low transmission of VL in this area. χ 2 test, independent sample t-test, and multivariate analysis of sociodemographic and spatial distribution of environmental risk factors showed that living near paddy fields is associated with increased risk for transmission of CL (P 0.01).