A monsoon disease analysis by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation released on Tuesday said leptospirosis has killed nine people across the city this season. The BMC has also reported six cases of cholera, the highest in three years.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that spreads to humans through rat and cattle urine and excreta and most commonly through unhealed wounds in the skin, abrasions and cuts, especially in the feet. The infection claimed three lives in June and six in July; five of them died in the past two weeks.
Civic officials said 76% of the victims of the infection were men and 24% were women. The highest number of cases were in the 15 to 29 age-group. Among the five deceased was a 46-year-old man who began treatment at a private clinic and got admitted to a hospital when his symptoms worsened. Before getting admitted, he stopped treatment mid-way and shifted to Ayurvedic treatment for jaundice. The report said, “This patient had a shoe bite wound and a history of wading through rain water. He died on July 15.”
In the second case, a 17-year-old boy who had an open wound on his leg and a history of walking through rain water died due to leptospirosis on July 12. Doctors said he had developed a respiratory failure during the treatment and collapsed.
The third death, of a 27-year-old man, was reported on July 20. This patient had a history of travelling to Konkan and walking barefoot through the rice fields. He developed symptoms after coming back to the city.
The fourth case of a 21-year-old man was reported on July 14. Civic officials said this patient took self-medication for several days and had a co-morbid condition of tuberculosis.
In the fifth case too, the 42-year-old man was found to have a co-morbid hypertension. He was admitted to a local hospital on July 10 and succumbed four days later due to acute renal failure.
Doctors said one should immediately seek medical help on observing the symptoms, and avoid self medication. The most common symptoms of the disease are high fever, chills, weakness, muscle ache and vomiting. While three cases of cholera were reported from E ward, one case each was reported from B, L and T wards.
