PMC provides free drug to check leptospirosis cases

PUNE: Waded through floodwater? If yes, then consult a doctor and pop in the prescribed medicine to prevent any chances of leptospirosis, a deadly bacterial infection.

The cases of leptospirosis tend to rise during the monsoon, with the recent bring reported from Hadapsar on August 4. “We have already started administering prophylactic antibiotic to those who walked through inundated areas, irrespective of any wounds on the body. Over 100 residents have already been given the drug,” Sanjeev Wavare, assistant medical officer of health, PMC, told TOI.
He said, “Those with open wounds, cuts or boils on their bodies, especially the feet, are more at risk of contracting the bacterial infection. Even extremely minor cut, which often goes unnoticed, can facilitate the entry of the bacterium inside the body.”
The prophylactic drug should be taken within 72 hours of being exposed to the floodwater. “We are providing the drug for free at civic-run hospitals and dispensaries. Besides, the drug is also being given for free at health camps held at various places with the help of private hospitals and Indian Medical Association,” Wavare said.
The bacteria ‘Leptospira interrogans’ is carried by many animals in their kidneys. It can end up in soil and water through their urine. “When you come in contact with the urine of the infected animal, the bacteria may enter your skin through open wounds,” Wavare said.
Infectious disease expert Bharat Purandare said, “People without any wounds or cuts on their bodies should also take the preventive medication if they have waded through the waterlogged areas as the bacterium spirochaete can invade the intact skin.”
Building basements are often infested with rodents. “People wading through water accumulation at basements are also at a higher risk of contracting leptospirosis,” a medical expert said.
In Mumbai, Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)‘s health department held a large-scale drive where medicine to fight leptospirosis was provided to people for the first time in 2017. It even published a research paper in October 2018 issue of the National Medical Journal of India, stating that the community drive had resulted in reduced number of leptospiriosis cases in 2017.