- CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Bacolod City Health Office said it logged the first leptospirosis death this year in Barangay Taculing, and one case each in Bata, Estefania, and Punta Taytay.
This is 300 percent higher than the reported cases in the same period last year at one fatality, Dr. Grace Tan, head of the CHO Environmental Sanitation Division, said, adding that “leptospirosis is a bacterial infection acquired through coming in contact with food, water, or soil contaminated by urine or any body fluids of infected animals, especially rats.”
People should avoid swimming or wading in flood water as this could be contaminated with urine of infected rats or animals, she said.
Those who waded in flood water, especially with open wounds, should take prophylaxis within 24 to 48 hours of exposure, and immediately seek consultation or treatment at the health center at the onset of symptoms like high fever, headache, chills, muscle aches, vomiting, jaundice or yellow skin and eyes, or abdominal pain, the CHO said.
In 2022, the CHO logged a total of 45 leptospirosis cases with 11 deaths, or 80 percent higher than the reported cases in 2021 at 25, with six deaths.
Of the 11 fatalities, four were recorded in Singcang, and one each in barangays Mandalagan, Bata, Cabug, Felisa, Taculing, Pahanocoy, and Estefania, with a case fatality rate of 24.4 percent.
The CHO also reported Thursday 16 cases of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, but did not specify the barangays where the infections were logged.
“The disease is a common childhood infectious illness caused by the Coxsackie virus,” Tan said. “It can affect adults and is most contagious in the first week.”
Signs and symptoms include sore throat, fever, painful ulcers or blisters in the hands and feet and sometimes in the thighs and buttocks.
It spreads by coming in direct contact with droplets from coughing or sneezing, touching, kissing, hugging, or sharing utensils with an infected person, or touching infected objects and surfaces.
Tan urges regular hand washing and disinfection, especially before eating, keeping an infected child or person at home to avoid transmission, and avoid the sharing of items.
Infected persons could be given Paracetamol for fever and pain, soft but non-spicy and hot foods, and to drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration, the CHO added./CGC
