Abstract:
Whilst being accountable for an increasing trend in mortality and morbidity, Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown aetiology (CKDu) has become a severe burden in Sri Lanka. Even though there is
no sound evidence to clarify the aetiology of CKDu, it will be worthwhile to seek out the possible
measures to minimize the prevalence of the disease. Hence, this study was intended to examine the
impact of water treatment and preventive measures on CKDu. Data were collected from the farming community who applies agrochemicals. Both a probit and a Logit regression were carried out
to check whether there is any relationship between CKDu and related variables such as consumption of treated water and adopting safety precautions. Results reveal that age, being a male, using
deep wells as a source of drinking water, and long term medication increases the probability of
getting the disease while, both preventive measures and water treatment significantly reduce this
probability. Therefore, ensuring an adequate supply of treated water, especially for the severely
affected villages is vital. Furthermore, both government and non-government institutions should
work responsibly to increase the awareness of CKDu and safety precautions, in order to save the
future generation.
