BY MAE SINGUAY
BACOLOD City – A 48-year-old man from Purok Candelaria, Barangay Sum-ag died of leptospirosis , confirmed the City Health Office (CHO).
But the other so-called leptospirosis death it did not confirm. This one involved a two-year-old-boy.
The boy from Barangay 3 reportedly died at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) four days ago.
The death certificate stated the boy died of pneumonia and diarrhea.
It was Vice Mayor Greg Gasataya who broke the news to the press on Wednesday that the boy’s mother sought his help.
From what he had gathered from the mother, Gasataya said, the boy had stepped on a nail and died two days later on August 11 at the CLMMRH.
The mother told Gasataya laboratory and blood tests showed the boy had been infected with leptospirosis bacteria, not tetanus.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that is commonly associated with rat urine, but infection can also come from animals like cattle, pigs, horses, dogs and wild animals.
The bacteria are acquired not only through cuts in the skin but also by swallowing the bacteria directly from water or through food, according to the Department of Health.
The disease causes a wide range of symptoms that begins with fever, body aches, rashes, flu-like symptoms and may end up in meningitis, liver damage (causing jaundice), and renal failure.
Death may also occur.
Meanwhile, Dolores Epacta, sister of the fatality that the CHO confirmed, said his brother died around 1:48 a.m. on Tuesday at the CLMMRH from “acute respiratory failure and severe leptospirosis” as reflected in his death certificate.
Her brother had fever on August 5 but he thought he was only suffering from flu, the sister added.
His doctor recommended that he be hospitalized on Tuesday after he showed signs of leptospirosis, said the sister.
CHO records showed three cases of leptospirosis last month and one so far this August.
Last year, CHO recorded a total of 30 cases of leptospirosis in this city./PN
