BACOLOD CITY – A 52-year-old maintenance personnel is the first leptospirosis fatality recorded by the City Health Office (CHO) here this year.
Dr. Grace Tan, head of the Environmental Sanitation Division of the CHO, said that the patient was a resident of Barangay Villamonte here.
Tan said the patient had fever and admitted on Jan. 25 due to difficulty of breathing. He died the following day.
The patient would frequently clean canals without wearing boots and gloves.
The CHO recorded four leptospirosis cases from Feb. 2 to 8 – one each in Barangays 1, Villamonte, Mansilingan, and Estefania.
The number was 20 percent fewer compared to the same period last year with five cases and one death.
The CHO reminded the people to wear boots when walking in floodwater, refrain from swimming in contaminated water, and properly dispose of garbage to avoid contracting the viral disease.