Leptospirosis again occurs as the only disease that kills the maximum number of people every year.
Although the formula has been the same over the past few years, what has been extremely concerned about the medical department is a huge jump in cases of leptospirosis and mortality in the last three years.
Despite the early warning of public health and the prophylaxis strategy of doxycycline initiated by departments or PCR test devices initiated for early confirmation of the disease, leptospirosis continues to be a significant cause of mortality.
The disease that was used to increase during the rainy season is no longer seasonal and more cases and deaths are also reported during the drought.
Since 2022, when the integrated monitoring program began to enter “probable” cases and death due to infectious diseases such as dengue and leptospirosis in the official records that mortality has begun to excel due to leptospirosis.
In 2022, the state recorded 5 315 probable and confirmed cases of leptospirosis and 290 deaths (probable and confirmed). The next year was recorded 5 186 cases and 282 deaths. In 2024, the number of cases jumped to 5,980 and death at 394. Even this year, the picture looks quite alarming, with 1,451 cases and 74 deaths recorded until 9 June.
Complication
Late diagnosis, as well as complications and organ damage due to coinfections of dengue-betospirosis, are often cited as the main reasons for serious loss of life. However, lack of intensive care facilities in secondary level hospitals in the districts is pointed to another important factor that could contribute to high mortality due to leptospirosis.
Early diagnosis of leptospirosis, a disease that represents itself as a high febrile disease, myalgia and headache, may not be easy because it is difficult to distinguish it from dengue or other tropical diseases, only clinical symptoms. However, laboratory diagnosis of leptospirosis is also very demanding. Current serological tests for antibodies such as Elisa take at least seven days to achieve the results, which completely escapes the diagnosis in the acute phase of the disease.
In recent years, the Ministry of Health has introduced PCR tests to soon identify leptospirosis. However, these molecular tests are not widely available.
Leptospirosis ranges from a subclinical or mild disease (anicterial) in 90% -95% of cases and is a small proportion of cases-ASI 5% -10%-what may develop into a serious disease whose prognosis may be unpredictable. People sometimes in the hospital throughout the days throughout the days and worsening more organs and lung disabilities can quickly occur late in the hospital.
These patients who develop a serious illness require intensive control, but often it is a place where the public health system decreases. The senior doctor in the Health Service points out that intensive care units in secondary care hospitals cannot be triggered 24 x7 due to acute lack of nursing staff. Patients refer to Medical College hospitals and overcrowding system.
Impossible to eliminate
Public health experts point out that leptospirosis is a risk that cannot be excluded, as there are more than 280 bacteria sevar, soil around us, and these environmental factors are something that human controls are not possible.
Many doctors argue that the focus must be back to the prevention of leptospirosis, because there are limits to diagnose the disease and how well can be managed.
The health department relies on the prophylaxis of doxycycline to face the threat of leptospirosis for years. Doctors point out that doxycycline has been found to be highly effective, even if a person has been exposed to an infectious agent, provided it is consumed according to the instructions. People tend to ignore the health councils or do not consume them according to the instructions, the officials say.
It seems that leptospirosis predominantly affects those who are in low-social economic groups, and essentially those whose occupation puts them in constant contact with soil and water-molorars, farmers, manipulators, manual workers, gardeners-possy that doxycycline prophylaxis could be consistently and repeatedly communicated between these high highs groups.
Published – 10th June 2025 20:40 is
