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DoH warns vs ?lepto?
With the onset of the rainy season, the Department of Health (DoH) warned against another public health threat ? leptospirosis, a deadly bacterial infection.
From January 1 to August 21 this year, the DoH recorded 444 cases and 20 deaths nationwide.
Among the regions that registered a high incidence of leptospirosis are Central Luzon with 106 cases and Western Visayas with 64.
Acquired from soil or water contaminated with the waste or urine of infected animals like rats, leptospirosis is caused by the leptospira bacteria that enter the human bloodstream through cuts or abrasions or in mucous membrane such as through the eyes, nose, and mouth.
?There were some cases that we were expecting to happen simply because it is not only acquired through floods but also in fields and farms. Farmers are exposed to urine of rodents,? Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, program manager of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control said in an interview.
Lee Suy said leptospirosis initially presents itself with flu-like symptoms so it is important for the patient to tell the doctor if he has been exposed to flood water recently so that the latter can consider whether or not the patient is afflicted with leptospirosis.
A person who came in contact with contaminated water must watch out for fever, headache, body and muscle pains, chills, abdominal pain, eye inflammation, and vomiting.
?This attacks several organs not just the kidneys, even the brain but initially, people would complain of difficulty in urinating,? he said. (Jenny F. Manongdo)
With the onset of the rainy season, the Department of Health (DoH) warned against another public health threat ? leptospirosis, a deadly bacterial infection.
From January 1 to August 21 this year, the DoH recorded 444 cases and 20 deaths nationwide.
Among the regions that registered a high incidence of leptospirosis are Central Luzon with 106 cases and Western Visayas with 64.
Acquired from soil or water contaminated with the waste or urine of infected animals like rats, leptospirosis is caused by the leptospira bacteria that enter the human bloodstream through cuts or abrasions or in mucous membrane such as through the eyes, nose, and mouth.
?There were some cases that we were expecting to happen simply because it is not only acquired through floods but also in fields and farms. Farmers are exposed to urine of rodents,? Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, program manager of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control said in an interview.
Lee Suy said leptospirosis initially presents itself with flu-like symptoms so it is important for the patient to tell the doctor if he has been exposed to flood water recently so that the latter can consider whether or not the patient is afflicted with leptospirosis.
A person who came in contact with contaminated water must watch out for fever, headache, body and muscle pains, chills, abdominal pain, eye inflammation, and vomiting.
?This attacks several organs not just the kidneys, even the brain but initially, people would complain of difficulty in urinating,? he said. (Jenny F. Manongdo)
