Leptospirosis: Never wade in floodwater

 Leptospirosis: Never wade in floodwater

Dr Abe V Rotor

Rats are carriers of of the disease called leptospirosis. The first time I heard the word leptospirosis was some ten years ago when Manila virtually remained underwater for days as a result of monsoon rains intensified by a series of typhoons. The disease is also called infectious jaundice because one of the advance symptoms is yellow coloration of the skin. The causal organism is a spiral bacterium, hence the name, and is endemic where public sanitation and personal hygiene are neglected. One can contact the disease through infected urine of rats and mice, and also other animals including dogs and cats. According to reports most of the victims acquired the disease from polluted drinking water and by wading in floodwater. The suspected carrier is the Rattus rattus norvigicus or city rat, counterpart of the field rat, Rattus rattus mindanensis.

How do we know if a person has contacted the disease? At first the symptoms are like those of an ordinary flu, which may last for a few days or weeks as the pathogen incubates in the body. If not treated the infection may lead to hemorrhages of the skin and mucus lining and eye inflammation. Extreme cases may lead to irreversible damage of the liver and kidney.

As floodwater drives the rats out of their subterranean abode - canals, culverts, sewers and the like - they take refuge in homes, market stalls, restaurants, even high rise buildings and malls, bringing the infectious bacterium direct to its victims. The migratory nature of rats also explains how leptospirosis infect people living away from the flooded areas.

Never wade in floodwater.

Reference: Internet photo; Living with Folk Wisdom, UST Publishing House, Manila ~