A government physician educates the public on several ways leptospirosis can be contracted, broadening the notion that the virus can only be transmitted through an open wound.
Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) infectious disease consultant Dr. Robert Guanzon warned the public that one can have leptospirosis even though they have no wounds, because the bacteria can also enter one’s body through the eyes and mouth.
Thus, ingesting contaminated flood water or drenching one’s eyes with it can cause bacterial transmission.
Guanzon said leptospirosis is a bacterium from the Greek words “lepto,” meaning thin, and “spira,” meaning coil, that can be transmitted from contaminated water with rat urine, usually from flood water.
He cautioned the public against swimming or wading through floods during the rainy season because this disease is deadly.
According to Guanzon, the common symptoms of leptospirosis include fever, headache, red eyes, yellowish skin, and backache.
In severe cases, the patients run out of urine, spit blood, experience restlessness, and cannot be talked to anymore. At the same time, some need to undergo dialysis because of damaged kidneys and livers. These symptoms could lead to death, he pointed out.
He noted that the common cause of leptospirosis death is usually delayed consultation, as patients are unaware their symptoms are already serious.
Early consultation is a lifesaving decision, he said.
People exposed to floods and sewage water are at great risk of leptospirosis, and those working in farms handling livestock such as hogs, cows, sheep, and goats, because these animals can also get the disease.
Rice farmers are also at risk, as are those living in crowded and unsanitary areas and those who stay in congested areas like public wet markets.
Preventive measures to avoid this disease include thorough washing of hands using clean water and soap, avoiding exposure to flood water by wearing boots, covering one’s wound for protection, and with the physician’s advice, taking a post-exposure prophylaxis within 24 to 72 hours.
Beyond this period, prophylaxis is no longer effective, he said.
Earlier, Bacolod City head of the Environmental Sanitation Division, Dr. Grace Tan revealed that from January 1 to August 10 this year, the city recorded 15 leptospirosis cases that included six deaths. (PIA-6 Negros Occidental)