BACOLOD City – Provincial Health Office (PHO) head Dr. Ernell Tumimbang advised Negrenses to be wary of leptospirosis, a deadly bacterial disease.
Tumimbang said the public must take “much needed precautions” against the disease especially this rainy season.
One can get the infection through direct contact with the urine of infected animals or with a urine-contaminated environment.
The leptospirosis bacteria enter the body through cuts or abrasions on the skin, or through the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and eyes.
Tumimbang advised parents not to allow their children to play in flooded areas.
“We should all be very careful, including farmers who regularly wade in their farms,” he added.
From January to June this year, the PHO has recorded 86 cases of leptospirosis in Negros Occidental – the highest in Western Visayas.
Of the total number, eight cases led to death.
Last year, there were 176 leptospirosis cases in the province. Ten deaths were recorded at the time, the PHO added.
The Department of Health (DOH) recorded 232 cases of leptospirosis – with 27 deaths – in the region from Jan. 1 to June 16 this year.
Dr. Ma. Sofia Pulmones, chief of DOH Region 6’s local health support division, said the region has the most number of cases in the country so far.
Next to Western Visayas having the most cases were the Caraga Region or northeast Mindanao with 162 and Region XI or southern Mindanao with 86./PN
