The flash floods that killed scores of people last month in the Philippines have left a deadly legacy. Six people have now died from leptospirosis, an infection caused by rat urine contamination. Many, many more are infected and in the hospitals, where medical structures are pushed to the brink.
132 people have already been infected with leptospirosis in the city of Olongapo. When the floods swept through, the water became contaminated with rat urine. What is worse, the disease has a very long incubation period, and manifests as a flu like illness. If the infection is not treated, it can result in Weil's disease, which causes kidney failure.
Medics believe that many people ignored their symptoms, thinking it a bout of influenza. Some of the people infected, had contracted the deadly bacteria when they swam through flood waters. The infection, furthermore, can be contracted through simple skin contact. Any dwelling or well where the flood water ran could be contaminated with the bacteria.
Because the symptoms of the disease are so deceiving, authorities believe there are many more untreated people who need to come forward for treatment.
The last leptospirosis epidemic, in 2009, killed 89 and infected 1,000 people, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Ketsana.
Source : France 24/ 10.09.13
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