FOUR PERSONS are confirmed dead from leptospirosis in Clarendon and what was at first thought to be food poisoning deaths in St. Catherine are now suspected to be other cases of death from the disease.
When it is taken into consideration that the bacterial infection is not usually fatal and many infected persons may not even show symptoms, the number of deaths is cause for alarm that a major outbreak of the disease may be under way. The chief medical officer for Clarendon, Dr. Sonia Copeland, says the Clarendon Health Department has been placed on high alert after reports of suspected cases of leptospirosis increased threefold in just over a week.
As far back as August, the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA) was warning of a possible outbreak of the disease in the island as the JSPCA had observed a nearly 100 per cent increase in cases of the leptospirosis among dogs in the Kingston and St. Andrew Metropolitan Area. The public health authorities, as we noted in our warning editorial on August 24, did not then seem unduly perturbed about the risk of human cases. In fact, there was some medical challenge to the JSPCA statement about the increase in veterinary cases.
The leptospirosis bacteria live in a wide range of domestic and wild animals, including cattle, pigs, horses, dogs and rodents. The primary means of human infection is through the urine and faces of rats contaminating food or entering untreated water supplies or washed into the soil.
We have just come through a period of sustained rainfall with flooding. The rains and resultant flooding, it is believed, have affected the habitats of rats in the wild, leading to a rise in rodent infestation in residential communities bringing with them the disease bacteria. Accumulated garbage further encourages the growth of the rat population.
The most basic steps that people can take to avoid infection are also the most effective: proper storage of food to avoid contamination by rats; not using untreated water where possible, or sterilising with bleach, water which has to be used from open sources for drinking and for washing foodstuff; and thoroughly washing with clean water foods to be eaten uncooked. Generations of Jamaicans past were used to rat-proof safes and cupboards raised off the ground and meshed for the storage of foodstuff. In a way, modern conveniences like refrigeration and the very successes of public health may have led to a lowering of our guard against the risks of infectious diseases like leptospirosis. The larger communal issues of proper garbage disposal and the reduction of the rat population need urgent attention by the authorities working in conjunction with communities.
As the outbreak of leptospirosis in a number of communities painfully reminds us, the resurgence of infectious disease is always just a breath away. Bird flu carried by poultry and wild birds is hovering around internationally. Individuals, communities and the public health authorities cannot afford to lower their guard. The pathways through the human connection to other animals, through food and water, and through wastes must always be carefully guarded. And continuous public education on risks and preventive measures must not be short-changed.
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