Leptospirosis, common yet deadly disease during rainy season.

Leptospirosis, common yet deadly disease during rainy season.

 People who have open wounds or lesions and waded through floods are highly at risk of being infected by Leptospirosis. The bacteria can also penetrate through the mouth, nose or the eyes.

 Leptospirosis also known as Weil’s disease, is a disease caused by Leptospira bacteria, which is common to rats. Leptospirosis can be acquired by wading in floodwaters contaminated with the urine of rats or other animals such as pigs, cows, dogs, horse or any wild animals infected by Leptospira bacteria. People who have wounds and waded in floods easily acquire the disease that is why it is highly recommended that they use the necessary protective gears before wading in flood waters.


The bacteria can also penetrate through the mouth, nose or the eyes. Leptospirosis can also be acquired in foods and drinks that are contaminated by the urine of animals with Leptospira bacteria. Leptospirosis is common in warm or tropical climates, especially in developing countries like the Philippines.

Leptospirosis have seven to 19 days incubation period so it is important to monitor the symptoms if a person was exposed to floodwaters. The symptoms to watch out for are:

-High fever with chills (39 to 40 degrees Celsius)
-Body ache particularly in the legs
-Severe headache (usually frontal headache)
-Red eyes
-Stomach ache, diarrhea
-Vomiting

In severe cases, persons infected with Leptospirosis have Jaundice (yellowish skin and eyes), Hepatomegaly or enlargement of the liver or renal failure. These complications may lead the patient’s death if not immediately treated. 

It is important to take confirmatory tests to check if a person is infected by Leptospirosis so that necessary medication will be prescribed by the doctor. The microscopic agglutination test is a laboratory test that will confirm if a person is infected by the disease. “However, this is quite costly for poor patients. This is why most of the cases are already severe because the poor, who have limited or no resources at all, cannot go to the hospital immediately and take the necessary tests and be cured,” 

If a person waded or would wade in floodwaters, it is recommended that he or she takes doxycycline antibiotics. But this is merely a first aid measure and taking doxycycline does not guarantee that a patient is 100 percent protected from the disease. 

Low risk patients, meaning those who were exposed to floodwaters but have no open wounds can take two capsules of 100mg doxycycline, single dose after 24 to 72 hours of exposure. Moderate patients or those who were exposed to floodwaters and have wounds or accidentally ingests water contaminated with Leptospira bacteria can take two capsules of 100mg doxycycline a day for three to five days after exposure. High risk patients or patients who are continuously exposed to floodwaters like residents in flooded communities or rescuers with or without wounds can take two capsules of 100mg doxycycline weekly until the end of the exposure. 

However, it should be noted that pregnant women, nursing mothers and children below eight years old cannot take doxycyline. “There are other alternative medicines that the doctor can prescribe.

 “Please note that patients should still be closely monitored because it is not guaranteed that after taking doxycyline they are already protected from the disease. Symptoms should still be noted and the patient should immediately see a doctor if any of the symptoms manifest,"

‘Prevention is better than cure’

Prevention is always better than cure. If one has left with no choice than to walk through floodwaters, he or she should be wearing protective gears like rain boots. Eliminating rodents will also prevent the disease; however, affected patients are mostly living in the depressed areas where they are most vulnerable to disasters and diseases. “It still falls to the government’s responsibility to provide social services like housing,

Other preventive measures to avoid Leptospirosis are; make sure to clean the surroundings; boil drinking water; do not walk into the flood without wearing boots; and have a massive campaign and education in the community about the disease and how to prevent it.

“Education is very important especially for those who live in far flung areas and are rarely reached by health care services,” 

 For more information call us at 0925-567-5329 • 0908-865-5662 • 0917-566-1932 • 458-0717 and schedule a consultation today.