ILOILO – From Jan. 1 to Aug. 17 the Provincial Health Office (PHO) recorded 37 leptospirosis cases with one death.
This is a 63 percent drop from the 99 cases with nine deaths recorded in the same period last year.
Leptospirosis is caused by the leptospira bacteria that enter the body through wounds which come in contact with floodwater, vegetation and moist soil contaminated with the urine of infected animals, especially rats.
Most of the cases this year were from municipalities with vast farmlands, according to Dr. Patricia Grace Trabado of the PHO.
The PHO listed 10 towns with the most number of cases. These were the following: Leon (six), San Miguel (five), Oton (three), Santa Barbara (three), Maasin (three), Cabatuan (two), Barotac Viejo (two), Tigbauan (two cases with one death), Dueñas (one), and San Enrique (one).
Nineteen out of Iloilo’s 42 towns and one component city have leptospirosis cases, said Trabado.
She urged most especially farmers to wear protective gear when wading in water-filled rice fields.
The leptospira bacteria enter the body through cuts or abrasions on the skin, or through the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and eyes. Person-to-person transmission is rare.
In the early stages of leptospirosis, symptoms include high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, chills, redness of the eyes, abdominal pain, jaundice, hemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes, vomiting, diarrhea, and rash.
Trabado further urged farmers to visit rural health centers for prophylaxis against leptospirosis./PN
