Leptospirosis cases in ’Gapo climb to 401 with 9 deaths

MANILA, Philippines - The number of leptospirosis cases in Olongapo City has climbed to 401, including nine deaths, and containment still seems to be far-fetched, Philippine Red Cross (PRC) chairman Richard Gordon said yesterday.

In an interview, Gordon said only 226 of the 401 cases have been admitted in hospitals.

“Symptoms have just started to manifest among some patients so I expect this to rise even more. We also have to consider that (the incubation period for leptospirosis) takes 10 days,” said Gordon, a former mayor of Olongapo City.

He said the PRC has been working closely with the Department of Health (DOH) to prevent further deaths from leptospirosis. 

The fatalities succumbed to multiple organ failure, the severe complication of leptospirosis, which is caused by exposure to floodwater contaminated by the urine of rats infected with the Leptospira bacteria.

The DOH earlier had cautioned that even without flood, leptospirosis could still be acquired from contaminated mud or soil.

Gordon said that although the James Gordon Memorial Hospital, where most patients were confined, is capable of performing dialysis, it has other regular dialysis patients, especially those with diabetes.

“It takes a long process (to set up) dialysis and my concern is that there are other people undergoing dialysis in the hospital. So we decided to use peritoneal dialysis among leptospirosis patients instead. You won’t need a machine for this,” he said.

Dr. Romina Danguilan, deputy director of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, said some severe leptospirosis cases develop “reversible kidney failure and require temporary dialysis therapy to allow time for the kidneys to recover.”

Other patients also develop lung failure that requires assistance in breathing through mechanical ventilation.