The Department of Health in Negros Oriental is strictly monitoring the possible cases of leptospirosis among patients admitted at hospitals in Dumaguete City.

Dr. Socrates Villamor, Provincial Epidemiology Surveillance Unit chief of the DOH, said they are gathering and collating reports from hospitals in Dumaguete.

Villamor said that after the flooding, he monitored all hospitals, rural health units, and evacuations centers in areas affected by the flood.

He said leptospirosis is one of the feared diseases that can be acquired during flooding, and all major areas in Valencia, Dumaguete City, and Sibulan were heavily flooded.

Villamor added that leptospirosis is a bacterial infection in humans that is transmitted by flood water contaminated with animal urine, specifically from rodents. Patients affected are usually those having open wounds when they are exposed to contaminated flood water.

Patients affected will experience high fever, chills, intense headaches, muscle aches, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea and rashes. It will also affect the internal organs, particularly the kidneys and liver.

Villamor advised all flood victims, especially children, to seek medical attention immediately whenever they experience high fever, before it gets worse.

Other victims who may also be contaminated with leptospirosis are those involved in search and rescue operations.*MA

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