Alert due to increase in lethal cases of leptospirosis in Holguín

Cuban health authorities warned about theincrease in lethal cases of leptospirosis in Holguín, caused by increased rainfall and contact with wastewater.

In the eastern province, morbidity and fatality due to this zoonotic disease have increased due to the accumulation of rainfall at the end of October, which increased the presence of rodents and wastewater, "essentially in livestock places," revealed a note published this Tuesday in the portalInfomed of that territory.

According to Dr. Humberto Rivera Almaguer, head of the Zoonoses Program in Holguín, although this disease is transmitted mainly by rodents, animal husbandry can be another source of contagion, through contact with the urine of infected species such as dogs, cattle, pigs or horses.

AlthoughThey did not specify the number of active cases of leptospirosis, the health authorities alerted the population about the importance of knowing the prevention measures to avoid contagion, since the bacteria that causes it can live for weeks to months in water and soil contaminated with animal urine.

Given the risk that this disease poses to life - which can cause damage to the kidney and liver and lead to death - and in months of abundant rain, rodents must be controlled through communal hygiene, he said. the specialist, in the place where the animals are kept and personal hygiene; "avoid swimming in puddles, rivers or dams; identify sick animals and avoid contact with their urine and feces; guarantee vaccination of risk groups," Rivera said.

He also pointed out that the constitutive symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, muscle pain, especially in the calves, vomiting, diarrhea and general malaise, which is why the population was urged to go to the doctor if they present any of them.

Last October it was confirmed that at leastfive cases of leptospirosis They had appeared in Ciego de Ávila so far this year.

Also inCamagueyLast July, there was a warning about the increase in cases, a situation that coincided with complaints from neighbors about the proliferation of sewage leaks in the territory.

In Holguín, between the sewage outlets and theGarbage accumulation, the habitat seems to be ideal for rodents. Neighbors of that territory have reported on several occasions that they live in filth and instreets covered in dirty water that pose a risk for the proliferation of diseases.