Editorial comment – Leptospirosis warning

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Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr. Ifereimi Waqainabete. Picture: JONACANI LALAKOBAU/FT FILE

The revelation that Fiji has recorded 10 suspected leptospirosis deaths is a major concern. According to Ministry of Health statistics, most of the dead are young men.

“What we tend to say is that it is common in young men,” Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete said.

“It’s usually the young men who are going out into communities, the ones that are going to the farms, the young men that are out cleaning the compound, the drains, they pick it up from there,” he said.

Dr Waqainabete said the Health Ministry recorded two typhoid deaths, but they were still trying to ascertain if there were any deaths attributed to dengue fever.

Another worry is the revelation that the ministry had recorded more than 300 dengue fever cases.

“After the two cyclones, we were working very hard out in the field because we knew that this was going to be a problem,” Dr Waqainabete said.

“Initially, we had six deaths and then it climbed up to 10 deaths for leptospirosis, and typhoid we had two deaths and we had more than 300 cases of dengue, but we are still not sure on whether we recorded any deaths or not.”

The good news though, at least according to the minister, is the announcement that numbers are coming down.

The World Health Organization states leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects both humans and animals.

Humans, it states, become infected through direct contact with the urine of infected animals or with a urine contaminated environment.

The bacteria, it states, enter the body through cuts or abrasions on the skin, or through the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and eyes. Person-to-person transmission is rare.

In the early stages of the disease, symptoms include high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, chills, redness of the eyes, abdominal pain, jaundice, haemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes, vomiting, diarrhoea, and rash.

It’s a treatable disease if detected and treated with antibiotics in a timely manner, according to the WHO.

Leptospirosis is preventable if risk factors are appropriately identified and managed, interventions are targeted towards risks at individual and community levels, all relevant sectors collaborate and co-ordinate prevention and control measures, and there is awareness of the significance of the problem and a willingness to act.

Clearly there has to be awareness created about leptospirosis, its symptoms, preventative measures, exposure risks and the danger it poses to our health and wellbeing.

We have been warned.

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