Spike in lepto casesLeptospira bacterium. (FP) Thu, August 16,
2012 - 12:09 AM The Ministry of Health is alerting the public
about a spike in leptospirosis cases, detected last month.
According to Dr Karen Springer, Senior Medical Officer of
Health, North, five people – two women and three men –
contracted the severe bacterial infection in July, bringing the
number of cases this year to 18. These included six
hospitalizations but no deaths. During the period January to
July 2011, 11 cases were confirmed. Springer explained that the
disease, which includes flu-like symptoms such as fever,
headache, chills, nausea and vomiting, eye inflammation and
muscle aches, could be contracted through contact with water,
damp soil or vegetation contaminated with the urine of infected
animals. Bacteria can also enter the body through broken skin
and contaminated food or water. The health practitioner
cautioned that while rodents were the main carriers of
leptospirosis in Barbados, the disease could also be transmitted
by ot