The risk of getting water-borne illnesses, like leptospirosis, is often much greater during the rainy season.
Health experts said this is because floodwaters and other extreme weather-related events cause rodents and other wild and domesticated species to move into the city.
In the Philippines, cases of leptospirosis have been spiking in the recent weeks due to rains and heavy flooding.
Data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed that from January 1 to August 3 this year, more than 900 cases of leptospirosis were recorded, 300 of which are from Metro Manila. Out of these cases, 106 fatalities were reported.
READ: Leptospirosis cases now over 900
According to the World Health Organization, leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects both humans and animals. It is an infection in both wild and domesticated animals but rodents are implicated most often in human cases.
Human infection can occur through “direct contact with the urine of infected animals or with a urine-contaminated environment such as surface water, soil and plants.”
The most common route of infection is exposure to water contaminated by urine, such as floodwaters, and through skin abrasions and the mucus of the nose, mouth and eyes.
How leptospirosis affects your body?
Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Cybele Abad, in an interview with UNTV Digital program Lifesaver, said that when leptospirosis bacteria enter the body, it spreads through blood and infects the cells.
“Kapag halimbawa after ng isang bagyo tapos lumusong sa baha tapos may bukas na sugat sa paa, usually pwedeng makapasok yung Leptospirosis (bacteria) sa open wound sa paa… Tapos dala ng dugo, iikot sa buong katawan yung leptospiros at magkakaroon ng mga sintomas ng leptospirosis,” Abad said.
Watch this online episode of Lifesaver for more information on how leptospirosis affects your body.
Signs and Symptoms
The time between a person’s exposure to a contaminated source and becoming sick is two to four days.
In the early stages of the disease, symptoms include high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, chills, redness of the eyes, abdominal pain, jaundice, haemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes, vomiting, diarrhea, and rash.
But according to Abad, many of leptospirosis’ symptoms can be mistaken for other diseases, so it is important for a person suspected with this infection to seek immediate medical consultation and tests.
“Kapag (tingin) po na may posibilidad na leptospirosis, kailangan dalhin sa ospital para mabantayan yung mga sintomas. Kailangan din pong ma-diagnose ito, usually through some blood test, puwedeng blood culture o kaya may diagnostic test para malaman kung leptospirosis or hindi,” she said.
What to do to prevent infection?
To avoid leptospirosis, health experts advise the public to take up measures, which include:
- Avoiding swimming or wading in potentially contaminated water or flood water.
- Use of proper protection like boots and gloves when work requires exposure to contaminated water.
- Draining of potentially contaminated water when possible.
- Control rats in the household by using rat traps or rat poison, maintaining cleanliness in the house.
The illness usually lasts for a few days to three weeks or longer and can be treated with antibiotics. But without treatment, recovery may take several months.
The more severe phase of the disease may lead a person to have kidney or liver failure or meningitis.
Lifesaver is a UNTV Digital program that offers basic first aid training essential to anyone who happens to be a bystander to an accident or emergency. It also educates viewers of imperative emergency response lessons and indispensable disaster preparedness tools to be able to save lives in times of calamities.
For more information on dengue, other basic first aid and emergency response tips, visit Lifesaver’s Youtube and Facebook accounts.
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