Olongapo Leptospirosis Epidemic

[Jollygoodfellow]

Seems to never end, one disaster after another.  :unsure:

 

Six dead in Philippine epidemic caused by rat urine

 

A bacterial epidemic caused by water contaminated with rat urine has hit a flood-ravaged region in the northern Philippines, killing six people and overwhelming local hospitals, a health official said Wednesday

MANILA: A bacterial epidemic caused by water contaminated with rat urine has hit a flood-ravaged region in the northern Philippines, killing six people and overwhelming local hospitals, a health official said Wednesday.

 

At least 132 people were infected with leptospirosis in and around the northern city of Olongapo, following deadly flash floods in the area last month, health department epidemiologist for the area Jessie Fantone told AFP.

 

"This is a bacterial infection caused by exposure to rat urine in flooded urban areas," Fantone told AFP in a telephone interview.

 

"The hospitals in the area have been overwhelmed. We have dispatched more personnel, hospital beds and medicine."

 

While the floods that struck the area late last month have subsided, the disease can incubate in the human body for up to 30 days before flu-like symptoms appear, Fantone said.

 

He said the infection, which in its most serious form is also known as Weil's disease, can eventually lead to kidney failure, requiring dialysis.

 

The health official said it was likely many of the patients had ignored early symptoms, or self-medicated believing they had influenza, instead of seeking professional treatment.

 

One of the dead had ingested the bacteria while swimming through floodwaters, unlike the rest who caught it through skin exposure, he added.

 

Fantone said the 90 infected people who remain in hospital were all likely to survive, but local health authorities expect the number of cases to rise as more people seek treatment.

 

At least 30 other people died during the flooding, which unleashed landslides in several villages around Olongapo, according to an official tally.

 

The health department said a leptospirosis epidemic in 2009 infected more than 1,000 people, killing 89 in and around Manila, after Tropical Storm Ketsana wrought deadly floods on large areas of the Philippine capital.

 

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/health/six-dead-in-philippine/841500.html

[Medic Mike]

 

Seems to never end, one disaster after another.  :unsure:

 

Six dead in Philippine epidemic caused by rat urine

 

A bacterial epidemic caused by water contaminated with rat urine has hit a flood-ravaged region in the northern Philippines, killing six people and overwhelming local hospitals, a health official said Wednesday

MANILA: A bacterial epidemic caused by water contaminated with rat urine has hit a flood-ravaged region in the northern Philippines, killing six people and overwhelming local hospitals, a health official said Wednesday.

 

At least 132 people were infected with leptospirosis in and around the northern city of Olongapo, following deadly flash floods in the area last month, health department epidemiologist for the area Jessie Fantone told AFP.

 

"This is a bacterial infection caused by exposure to rat urine in flooded urban areas," Fantone told AFP in a telephone interview.

 

"The hospitals in the area have been overwhelmed. We have dispatched more personnel, hospital beds and medicine."

 

While the floods that struck the area late last month have subsided, the disease can incubate in the human body for up to 30 days before flu-like symptoms appear, Fantone said.

 

He said the infection, which in its most serious form is also known as Weil's disease, can eventually lead to kidney failure, requiring dialysis.

 

The health official said it was likely many of the patients had ignored early symptoms, or self-medicated believing they had influenza, instead of seeking professional treatment.

 

One of the dead had ingested the bacteria while swimming through floodwaters, unlike the rest who caught it through skin exposure, he added.

 

Fantone said the 90 infected people who remain in hospital were all likely to survive, but local health authorities expect the number of cases to rise as more people seek treatment.

 

At least 30 other people died during the flooding, which unleashed landslides in several villages around Olongapo, according to an official tally.

 

The health department said a leptospirosis epidemic in 2009 infected more than 1,000 people, killing 89 in and around Manila, after Tropical Storm Ketsana wrought deadly floods on large areas of the Philippine capital.

 

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/health/six-dead-in-philippine/841500.html

 

I remember when that happened in 2009, it was pretty bad. Hard to educate locals to do betadine scrubs if they are exposed to flood waters.

[OnMyWay]

Olongapo City is full of mud dust.  The dried mud turns to dust over time.  They cleaned up vast quantities of mud but there is no way you can get it all.  We could use some good hard rain to wash it away, but of course not too much at once.

 

Last night my nose and sinus were clogged, and I realized it was probably because we spent most of the day at a mud dusty school.  We were there for a Sportfest and the school had been flooded.  It looked fairly well cleaned up but you could see the dust.

 

I hope the dust does not have the bacteria!

[Call me bubba]

thanks for the topic start

seems that the Leptospirosis  is getting more serious according to the latest reports

 

 

SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga: Cases of leptospirosis caused by rat’s urine have climbed to 300 in Zambales

even as the provincial government is devising measures to reduce carriers of the deadly disease.

Since Monday, October 7, two weeks after the September 23 flooding,

a record number of leptospirosis victims began flocking to the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital in Olongapo City where authorities have recorded a total of 296 cases as of Thursday.

The cases have now reached more than 300 in three days.

Gov. Hermogenes “Jun” Eb-dane said the provincial health office,

in a coordinated effort with the Provincial Agriculture Office and Provincial Veterinary Office will take steps to eliminate rats that cause the spread of leptospirosis infection through their urine.

“The causes are rats living in the subterranean level, under urban centers,

so we have to get rid of these pests,” he added.

“Leptospirosis is practically to be expected when there is flooding,

and we don’t have to wait for the floods to come anew to take action. The rats live in subterranean level, under urban centers, we have to get rid of these pests,” the governor added.

 

Leptospirosis, which is caused by “Infection” with bacteria of the“Genuis Leptospira ”

transmitted to humans by the urine of an infected animal coming in contact with open wounds, or the eyes and mucous membranes

 

Eight patients have died from the disease, so far, including one from Subic town.

 

http://manilatimes.net/rat-urine-epidemic-victims-in-zambales-climb-to-300/43934/

[OnMyWay]

Yesterday I got stuck in traffic caused by a detour in Olongapo City.  The street in front of the side entrance to the main hospital, James Gordon, was closed to through traffic.  I thought it was because of the Christmas mart setup near SM on the same street, but I just saw on the news it is because they have set up tents outside the hospital to help handle the epidemic.