Leptospirosis deaths on the rise
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/13/2009 10:29 PM
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MANILA - The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday announced that leptospirosis cases in Metro Manila have ballooned by as much as 174% since last year.
Dr. Eric Tayag, head of the National Epidemiology Center, said that there have been 375 confirmed cases of leptospirosis from January 1 to October 11 this year, with 28 patients who died from the disease.
Around 15 deaths caused by leptospirosis have been reported in the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City alone. In 2008, there were 137 leptospirosis cases and 14 deaths.
According to Tayag, areas that have shown a surge in leptospirosis cases include Region 3 (Central Luzon), National Capital Region (NCR) and Region 4-A (Calabarzon), all of which have been hard-hit by tropical storm Ondoy.
He said leptospirosis cases in Calabarzon have doubled from 12 last year to 28 this year.
Tayag said the DOH is monitoring a possible leptospirosis outbreak in Marikina City, which has 25 reported cases of leptospirosis this year, compared to zero cases last year.
"Though cases of leptospirosis always surge during floods, it increased more this time because there many animals that died [during the typhoon]. Their body fluids are the source of contaminated flood waters," he said.
Leptospirosis is an infection caused by direct exposure to bacteria found in animal urine and feces.
Patients can get infected when they swallow flood water or when bacteria enter the body through open wounds, eyes, nose, or breaks in the skin.
Testing kits running low
Hospitals in Metro Manila have also reported that they are running low on leptospirosis testing kits due to a surge in demand.
Dr. Benito Villarama, head of Clinics of the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, said their testing kit stocks are running low and that their supplier has also been hard up in delivering imported test kits to the hospital.
"Right now, our stock of re-agent (chemicals) for testing kits of leptospirosis is not enough. We are doing emergency purchases of testing kits. We contacted our supplier, but they're not sure when they can deliver. Maybe within the week," Villarama said in an interview on ABS-CBN News.
He said that the San Lazaro Hospital currently has 194 patients with leptospirosis, compared to just 30 cases in previous years.
Tayag said that there are various ways to test for leptospirosis, including rapid test, micro-aglutination test, and polymerase chain reaction test.
The rapid test essentially involves pricking a patient's finger and placing a drop of blood on a testing strip - much like a blood sugar test.
A change in the color of the testing strip will indicate whether or not a patient is positive for leptospirosis.
| HOW TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE LEPTOSPIROSIS |
| LEPTOSPIROSIS is a rare bacterial infection that occurs when humans come into contact with water, wet soil or vegetation with animal urine or feces that contains leptospira. It is potentially fatal because it affects the liver. |
There is a likelihood that you have leptospirosis if:
What to do if you suspect that you have leptospirosis:
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You can avoid leptospirosis by:
|
Tayag explained that doctors need not administer leptospirosis tests (that cost P600 or more) if they have a strong suspicion that a patient has the disease, based on signs and symptoms.
(see sidebar on "How to know if you have leptospirosis" or check abs-cbnNEWS.com's Updates and Advisories page)
Free services
The DOH also plans to offer free rapid testing for patients who suspect they have leptospirosis.
Tayag stressed, however, that the tests will only be administered to patients if doctors are unsure about the symptoms. This is to minimize costs for testing kits.
At the very least, patients with fever must consult with their doctors immediately because this is a symptom of other flood-borne diseases.
Dengue and leptospirosis, for example, share common symptoms like fever, body pains, and low platelet count - but differ in other symptoms.
DOH-accredited outfits like the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa City and the San Lazaro Hospital are set to offer free rapid testing and other medical services.
Villarama said the San Lazaro hospital is already offering free medical services for indigent patients.
"All affected families - with or without PhilHealth [coverage] - will be given free medicines, hospital stay, and dialysis if needed," Tayag said. "The DOH also plans to give prophylactic antibiotics for select patients."
He added that chiefs of hospitals have already met recently to discuss how to manage the expected surge of leptospirosis patients at their facilities.
They identified medical centers where patients can be transferred if hospitals are too full.
Tayag said the health bureau is considering putting "express lanes" at hospitals so that the diagnosis and treatment of flood-borne diseases is faster. Report from Sol Aragones, ABS-CBN News.
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