Typhoon Tino caused massive flooding in some areas of the Visayas and Mindanao.
With this, the Department of Health (DOH) reminded that wading in floodwaters can pose health risk like contracting leptospirosis.
The DOH said that people may get leptospirosis due to floodwaters or handling soil/mud/dirt after a flood, with or without visible wounds, through exposed skin.
The DOH said that symptoms can take as long as one month to appear.
‘There are antibiotics available for prevention [i.e., prophylaxis], and this requires a prescription. Consult your nearest doctor or health center within 24 hours after wading through floodwaters or touching soil/mud/dirt after a flood,’ the DOH said.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection transmitted by many animals, such as rodents and other vermin. Waste products like urine and feces of an infected animal, especially rats, contaminate the soil, water, and vegetation.
Zoonotic disease
It is a zoonotic disease, affecting both animals and humans, caused by the leptospira bacterium found in contaminated water or soil.
Leptospira bacteria can enter the body through breaks in the skin, or through the eyes, nose and mouth. Infected animal urine like those from infected rats can mix with flood water, which then comes into contact with people wading through or playing in it.
Without treatment, leptospirosis in people can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, trouble breathing, and even death.
Symptoms
Leptospirosis symptoms include fever, vomiting, nausea, muscle pain, and headache.
Some cases have distinct pain in the calf muscles, and reddish eyes. Severe cases may have jaundice (yellowish body discoloration), dark-colored urine, light-colored stool, low urine output, and severe headache. Many of these symptoms can be mistaken for other diseases; some people have no symptoms.
It generally takes two to 30 days to get sick after having contact with the bacteria that cause leptospirosis.
Therefore, people must consult doctors immediately after being exposed to, wading or playing in, flood waters as there is a preventive antibiotic prescription, the DOH said.