The Department of Health in Region 7 has declared an outbreak of the bacterial infection, leptospirosis in Tanjay City, following a rise in cases in two of the city’s barangays.
Dr. Socrates Villamor, head of the DOH’s Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit in Negros Oriental, disclosed that as of latest report Thursday morning, a total of 39 leptospirosis cases with one death were recorded in Negros Oriental.
Of the number, 21 patients were not admitted while 18, to include the lone casualty, were admitted at various hospitals, said Dr. Villamor.
Tanjay City topped the list with the most number of leptospirosis cases, to include 21 non-admissions, five hospital admissions and one death.
Dumaguete City, the capital of Negros Oriental, came in second with three cases, followed by San Jose and Mabinay towns with two cases each, and Bais City, Sibulan, Valencia, Pamplona, Amlan and Bacong with one case each.
Majority of the cases reported in Tanjay City were isolated in the central or “poblacion” Barangays 4 and 6, which were submerged in excessive flooding spawned by Tropical Storm Sendong which hit many areas in Negros Oriental last December 17.
Health authorities had already anticipated an occurrence of diarrhea and leptospirosis cases in flood-affected areas due to water contamination.
According to Dr. Villamor, the DOH continues to provide free antibiotics to residents in Tanjay and some other areas for the patients afflicted with leptospirosis, as well as those that have had a history of wading in contaminated floodwater as prophylactic treatment.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection contracted via the human skin, more particularly in people who have open wounds and have come into contact with floodwaters contaminated with the urine of rats, said Dr. Villamor.
He advised the public to seek early consultation with a doctor once signs and symptoms, such high fever, searing headache and body malaise, among others.
Dr. Villamor has also urged the people to wear rubber boots when cleaning their homes that had been flooded, many of which are still covered in mud.
A recent visit to Tanjay City by Dr. Villamor and his team showed that while the floodwater had already subsided, muddy soil left over by the storm has not dried up totally, thus posing to the public a still potential risk of lepstospirosis.
Dr. Villamor is hopeful, though, that leptospirosis cases in Negros Oriental will soon see a decline as reporting of cases this week has become minimal compared to last week.