Residents In Thailand Warned Against Outbreak Of Leptospirosis

[webfact]

Residents warned against outbreak of leptospirosis

BANGKOK, 13 August 2012 (NNT) - The Public Health Ministry is alerting residents across the country to an outbreak of leptospirosis, one of the most common diseases found during the rainy season.

Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri said in addition to contracting the Hand, Foot and Mouth disease, local residents in flood-prone areas are also at risk of leptospirosis, which has so far killed 27 people nationwide. Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by the leptospira bacteria in rat urine. Most patients contracted the disease while wading in flood waters, or coming into contact with wet soil and plants contaminated by the animal urine.

Mr Witthaya said since January of this year, over 1,700 cases of leptospirosis have been reported in 70 provinces. Ranong, Phang-Nga, Phattalung, Surin and Si Saket provinces have the highest rates of infection in the country.

It is reported that rice farmers are most vulnerable to leptospirosis as their legs are constantly submerged under water while they are working in the paddy fields. Residents in flood-prone areas have also been increasingly exposed to the disease as they are forced to walk in stagnant water for an extended period of time.

Disease Control Department director-general Dr Pornthep Siriwanarangsun said the agency is devising strict measures to prevent and curb the spread of the disease. He advises members of the public with symptoms such as high fever, severe muscle pain, and headach to urgently consult a physician. Leptospirosis can easily be treated with antibiotics. If left untreated, the disease can be fatal.

-- NNT 2012-08-13

[yougivemebaby]

Ewwww

[Reasonableman]

http://www.leptospirosis.org/topic.php?t=38

[khwaibah]

Signs have been up for 2 months.

[villagefarang]

It looks so picturesque but there is danger lurking in them there waters.

[happynthailand]

dam_n,looks like the poor rice farmers get the short end of the stick again

[khwaibah]

Two have died in Kap Choeng/Surin.

[craigt3365]

I mentioned this to wifey. She said it's a well known and well publicized problem. In her village, pretty much all the farmers now wear rubber boots due to this. Kudos to the government for trying to keep on top of this.

[fredKroket]

It looks so picturesque but there is danger lurking in them there waters.

This bunch are wearing waders, surely that would stop any infection?

[tjansen]

What about their hands and arms.

[villagefarang]

It looks so picturesque but there is danger lurking in them there waters.

This bunch are wearing waders, surely that would stop any infection?

One certainly hopes so. Might even help with the herbicides they spray to kill the weeds and the poisons they use to kill the snails and crabs. I have noticed the calf-high boots have changed to thigh-high waders over the last few years. One suspects hands and arms continue to be at risk as the sleeves they wear for protection aren’t waterproof. Things are changing but the pace is sometime glacial.

[FM505]

Still... the basics apply. Wash your hands with soap...make bubbles. Also before eating meals or handling food. And wash your foot and your mouth each day. Keep your hands off your face... and fingers out the nose and eyes and ears... etc. This is the simpliest and most effective solution to staying healthy on a daily basis.

[SouthernMan3]

No problem where I am.

No rain.

We have been waiting and want it bad.

But, dry, dry, dry...........

[Riley'sLife]

It is not only people working in fields that are at risk. It can be transmitted by drinking directly from beer and other drink cans which have been stored where rats are present..and that means almost everywhere!

So, always wash the can, then decant the contents or use a straw. Never drink directly from any can in Asia!

[humqdpf]

Don't think that this is a disease that you only find in less developed countries or warm or flooded places. The cat belonging to someone I knew in the UK was infected with LS from being in the grass where the local rats ran. Kids could have fallen in that grass and got it too.

[jerrysteve]

Probably would be a good idea to invest in some High Top Rubber Boots. Does anyone know of any reported cases of

LEPTOSPIROSIS during the last flood?

[ttelise]

Everyone is worried about rat piss water affecting rice growers. While that certainly is a concern, what about the frickin rice. Not sure I want to eat foot growing submerged in rat piss water.

[jsflynn603]

The waders probably help. Even if the hands/arms are immersed in water with infective leptospiris species wearing waders would reduce the "load" of entering spirochetes. The body's immune system can handle a certain (unknown) amount of almost any organism but when there are more enemies than immune soldiers to fight them the bacteria get the upper hand. Most likely long time rice farmers have been infected and had the disease (more than 90% of people who have the antibodies do not remember ever having any symptoms of leptospirosis). In certain cases though, as what happened a few years ago in Manila, I'm surprised that the government did not dispense tablets of doxycycline. Two hundred milligrams (usually 2, 100 mg tablets) is said to be protective for up to a week.

Rodent control helps, but in areas where the organism is active, even snakes and frogs can become resevoir species. Rodent control, especially rat control helps because of their proximity to humans.

Interestingly, a vaccine can be made, but the problem is that there are over 250 serovars (varities with different antigenic properties) so vaccines would have to be regional. A few countries (Cuba was one) created vacccines, but they were not particularly successful because of the different serovars.

For anyone interested this is the most useful source that I have found

http://www.searo.who.int/LinkFiles/CDS_leptospirosis-Fact_Sheet.pdf

If such links are not allowed, apologies if so, or if said link does not work, search for keywords:

Leptospirosis Fact Sheet World Health Organization

As a side note, though most people would be surprised within the body, in the blood, these organisms move like a bat out of hades. They are spiral and somehow rotate....very quickly, and are extremely lovely to look at under dark-field microscopy as are all spirochetes (other problematic spirochetes are those that cause syphilis and lyme disease).

[MEL1]

"leptospirosis, which has so far killed 27 people nationwide. Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by the leptospira bacteria in rat urine. Most patients contracted the disease while wading in flood waters, or coming into contact with wet soil and plants contaminated by the animal urine."

----------------------

Absolute rubbish!

Leptospirosis is one of the biggest hidden killers in Thailand. It is contained in most Thai fish that inhabit local waters and rivers, dried or freshly caught.

It causes many organ failures, primarily the pancreas. Yes, it is transmitted by rats. However, consuming fish in Thailand is the biggest cause of death from leptospirosis, and this news journal is completely misleading.

-mel.

[Reasonableman]

http://www.who.int/zoonoses/diseases/Leptospirosissurveillance.pdf

Leptospirosis

General introduction

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis of worldwide distribution, endemic mainly in countries with humid subtropical or tropical climates and has epidemic potential. It often peaks seasonally, sometimes in outbreaks, and is often linked to climate changes, to poor urban slum communities, to occupation or to recreational activities. The clinical course in humans ranges from mild to lethal with a broad spectrum of symptoms and clinical signs. Leptospirosis is underreported in many countries because of difficult clinical diagnosis and the lack of diagnostic laboratory services.

Causal agent and main modes of transmission

Causal agent: Pathogenic leptospires belong to the genus Leptospira (long corkscrew-shaped bacteria, too thin to be visible under the ordinary microscope); dark-field microscopy is required. The more than 240 pathogenic serovars cannot be differentiated on the basis of morphology.

Main modes of transmission: Feral and domestic animals constitute the reservoir of the agent, transmitted through contact of mucous membranes or (broken) skin with water (swimming or immersion), moist soil or vegetation contaminated with the urine of infected animals; occasional infection occurs through ingestion/inhalation of food/droplet aerosols of fluids contaminated by urine. The incubation usually lasts about 10 days (2 to 30 days).

[naboo]

Everyone is worried about rat piss water affecting rice growers. While that certainly is a concern, what about the frickin rice. Not sure I want to eat foot growing submerged in rat piss water.

Can I recommend you avoid eating anything then? Or maybe just wash stuff before you eat it.

[Reasonableman]

http://www.leptospirosis.org/topic.php?t=47

Leptospirosis in animals - species at risk

Leptospirosis can occur in all mammals, including domestic pets, livestock, wild animals and humans, although in some species it's rare. Fish and crustaceans seem rarely, if ever, to be infected, and birds appear unable to contract the infection in the wild except when very young. Reptiles and amphibians can also be infected but not as commonly as mammals. Insects are not considered to be involved except where they transfer blood between other animals.

Although fish (both temperate and tropical) are not easy to infect and rarely carry the bacteria, there is an issue in some cases of the water used to transport them being the problem - international commercial fish transport for the pet market uses regular water changes and is unlikely to cause a problem, but fish captured by amateurs may permit the bacteria a free ride back to the tank. They will then survive in the water for several weeks or months and could potentially risk infection to pets that drank from the water, or humans handling it with injured skin.

[FOODLOVER]

Signs have been up for 2 months.

But what if the rats are rebellious or illiterate?

[denby45]

Signs have been up for 2 months.

That sign looks like a no shagging sign aimed at the rats. I didn't know the rats were so smart in thailand.

Den

[sunshine51]

Perhaps a tad bit OT but....

Keep the Red's outta the water.

[oops]

We should applaude the goverment for a change for being on the ball and making us all aware.

Thank you Thai Government for the headsup.

[Thai at Heart]

It looks so picturesque but there is danger lurking in them there waters.

This bunch are wearing waders, surely that would stop any infection?

One certainly hopes so. Might even help with the herbicides they spray to kill the weeds and the poisons they use to kill the snails and crabs. I have noticed the calf-high boots have changed to thigh-high waders over the last few years. One suspects hands and arms continue to be at risk as the sleeves they wear for protection aren’t waterproof. Things are changing but the pace is sometime glacial.

Well there are probably 5mn pairs going cheap 2nd hand, one careful owner, based in northern bangkok, purchased October through December 2011.

[jonb1942]

For thouse of you who are not with this,it is also knowen as "Weil's disease".

[robertson468]

The waders probably help. Even if the hands/arms are immersed in water with infective leptospiris species wearing waders would reduce the "load" of entering spirochetes. The body's immune system can handle a certain (unknown) amount of almost any organism but when there are more enemies than immune soldiers to fight them the bacteria get the upper hand. Most likely long time rice farmers have been infected and had the disease (more than 90% of people who have the antibodies do not remember ever having any symptoms of leptospirosis). In certain cases though, as what happened a few years ago in Manila, I'm surprised that the government did not dispense tablets of doxycycline. Two hundred milligrams (usually 2, 100 mg tablets) is said to be protective for up to a week.

Rodent control helps, but in areas where the organism is active, even snakes and frogs can become resevoir species. Rodent control, especially rat control helps because of their proximity to humans.

Interestingly, a vaccine can be made, but the problem is that there are over 250 serovars (varities with different antigenic properties) so vaccines would have to be regional. A few countries (Cuba was one) created vacccines, but they were not particularly successful because of the different serovars.

For anyone interested this is the most useful source that I have found

http://www.searo.who...-Fact_Sheet.pdf

If such links are not allowed, apologies if so, or if said link does not work, search for keywords:

Leptospirosis Fact Sheet World Health Organization

As a side note, though most people would be surprised within the body, in the blood, these organisms move like a bat out of hades. They are spiral and somehow rotate....very quickly, and are extremely lovely to look at under dark-field microscopy as are all spirochetes (other problematic spirochetes are those that cause syphilis and lyme disease).

So, having been with mia noi down the bar and contracted a little package that is somewhat anti-social, I could tell panra-ya-pom, it's Leptospirosis HONEST Thirak!!

[linno2]

Just had a young bloke from Phi Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima diagnosed and hospitalised with same in the last 24 hours. He was engaged to undertake the mosquito spraying in ice growing areas. As is common he thought he had the flu which gets marginally better but then comes back with vengance. It is commonly misdiagnosed. Fortunately if early in the course of the disease it is easy to treat with a range of antibiotics. Not so easy to treat if left for a range of body systems to become progressively involved - liver, kidneys, heart and lungs.