THE Department of Health in Central Luzon (DOH-3) has recorded a 23 percent increase in leptospirosis cases in the region in the first half of 2018.
From January to June this year, the DOH-3 recorded 103 cases of leptospirosis in the seven provinces in the region. This is a 23 percent increase from the 84 cases recorded in 2017.
In Pampanga alone, the number of individuals who contracted leptospirosis went up to 11 this year from only five last year, while Bataan province recorded the highest increase of 300 percent from one case in 2017 to four cases this year.
The province of Nueva Ecija has the most number of cases at 40, but the number was a 15 percent decrease from the 47 cases last year. Bulacan province, meanwhile recorded a 150 percent increase from four cases in 2017 to ten cases in 2018.
Tarlac and Zambales provinces also recorded an increase of 20 to 80 percent from 10 and 15 cases last year, respectively, to 18 cases for both this year, while Aurora province recorded the same number of two cases of leptospirosis in 2017 and 2018.
Despite the rise in leptospirosis cases, DOH-3 regional epidemiologist Jessie Fantone said the health agency was able to minimize the fatalities to only six, a decrease of 53.8 percent from the fatalities reported last year.
The provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Tarlac, Pampanga and Zambales had zero deaths while Nueva Ecija had five and Bulacan with five fatalities related to leptospirosis, Fantone furthered.
Leptospirosis is an infection spread mainly by contact with water or soil contaminated by the urine of infected animals, particularly rats. Persons can get the disease by swimming or wading in fresh unchlorinated water contaminated with animal urine or by coming into contact with wet soil or plants contaminated with animal urine.
Since majority of provinces in Central Luzon experienced and continue to experience flooding, Fantone has issued a reminder to the public to refrain from wading or being in contact with floodwaters to avoid getting infected with leptospirosis.
“Any type of flooding, whether minimal or six feet high, is considered an equal risk for leptospirosis so refrain from dipping your skin in floodwaters to avoid being infected with leptospirosis,” he said.
Fantone added that unlike dengue which is a virus, leptospirosis is caused by bacteria and may be treated with antibiotics.
“There is no vaccine for leptospirosis because it is not a virus like dengue. But the good thing is mild leptospirosis can be treated with medicines such as doxycycline which the DOH distributes to flooded communities in the region,” he said.