Highlights

The disease could be fatal as it destroys kidneys.

It is acquired from rats’ urine mixed in the floodwater.

Rise in diseases triggered by flooding, caused by walking in floodwaters.

Health official advised public to wear proper gear like boots or plastic bags if walking in flood cannot be avoided.

Manila: A total of 1,015 leptospirosis cases have been recorded across the Philippines from January 1 to March 18, 2023 — a huge jump from the 353 cases during the same period in 2022.

Leptospirosis — a disease that could be contracted via rats' urine diluted in the floodwater — is a bacterial disease that affects both humans and animals.

It is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. The most common ways to get infected is urine or contaminated water getting in your eyes, nose, mouth, or broken skin (such as a cut or scratch). Infection may also be triggered eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water.

Incidence

According to the Philippines’ Department of Health-Epidemiology Bureau (DOH-EB) surveillance data, Western Visayas recorded 212 cases, the highest in the country during the period.

It was followed by Cagayan Valley with 128 cases; the Central Visayas with 89 cases; the Zamboanga Peninsula with 87 cases; and the Davao Region with 72 cases.

Moreover, leptospirosis caused 85 deaths so far this year, a 70 per cent jump compared to 50 for the same period last year, according to official data.

How does a person get leptospirosis?The most common ways to get infected is urine or contaminated water getting in your eyes, nose, mouth, or broken skin (such as a cut or scratch).

You can also get infected by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water, according to the CDC.

Leptospirosis infections occur year-round, especially in areas that are flooded, DOH officer in charge Dr. Maria Rosaria Vergeire told a media event on Wednesday.

Vergeire urged people to wear protective clothing like boots or plastic bags if walking through floodwater could not be avoided.

“If you have wounds in your feet and soaked them in flood water, wash them thoroughly with soap and clean water,” she said in Filipino.

She also suggested that anyone who had walked in floodwaters should visit a doctor as soon as leptospirosis symptoms appeared.

Leptospirosis is fatal as it destroys the kidneys, she explained. The patient needs dialysis when there are complications. She also urged citizens to keep their environment clean to keep rats from inhabiting their surroundings.

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In humans, leptospirosis can cause a wide range of symptoms. Some infected persons, however, may have no symptoms at all. Symptoms generally include:

High fever

Headache

Chills

Muscle aches

Vomiting

Jaundice (yellow skin and eyes)

Red eyes

Abdominal pain

Diarrhoea

Rash