SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – The Center for Health Development (CHD) Region I here declared an outbreak of the dreaded leptospirosis bacterial infection in three towns – Bawang, Aringay and Naguilian – located in the second district after it recorded an abnormal increase in the number of patients seeking medical attention because of the illness over the past several weeks.

The outbreak was declared as experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) arrived the other day to probe on leptospirosis cases in the country that has now reached 2,172 cases and 167 deaths, based on data from the Department of Health (DoH).

From October 2 to the present, it was reported by the local health department that there were 268 leptospirosis cases in the whole province with a whooping 24 deaths over a span of a few days.

The number of patients seeking medical attention because of the bacterial infection started to increase over the weekend after health officials announced that private hospitals are also treating leptospirosis patients since the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC) suffered from overcrowding as patients suffering from the infection flocked to the government-owned hospital.

The health department was forced to declare a leptospirosis outbreak in the towns of Bawang, Aringay and Naguilian after the cases surged to 46, 28 and 26, respectively, and still counting.

Meanwhile, the town of San Juan and this capital city is under close watch by the CHD Region I because cases in the areas are starting to significantly increase as an aftermath of the onslaught of typhoon Pepeng, which triggered abnormal floodings  in lowland communities.

Because of the outbreak, the regional, provincial and municipal offices have intensified the distribution of prophylaxis, particularly doxycycline antibiotics, to residents to prevent the infection of more patients from the dreaded bacteria in the coming days.

According to experts, the incubation period of the leptospira bacteria after it was able to enter a person’s body through an open wound is two to 26 days.

The leptospira bacteria breeds on flood waters after they are contaminated by animal urine, thus, it is advisable for local residents not to expose themselves to the polluted floodwaters in their places or try to expose themselves in dried up mud in their houses and surroundings since they can get infected with the dreaded bacteria.

The CHD Region I advised all residents encountering flu-like symptoms to immediately seek medical attention so that they could be given appropriate medication for their illness rather than subject themselves to the usual self-medication, which is the common practice of most people living in far flung communities.

Initially, the leptospira attacks parts of the human body before moving on to the kidney which will require the patient to undergo the expensive dialysis treatment in order to mitigate the effects of the bacterial infection.

Once the situation is no longer under control, the bacteria already attacks a person’s liver which makes the person yellowish that could lead to eventual death since such situation is no longer controlled.

As this developed, families huddled in small sleeping places packed with a few belongings that they have managed to save from the storm greeted local and international health experts who paid them a visit.

“We are working in solidarity with Philippine government and Filipino people in this difficult time,” Dr. Shin Young-Soo, WHO Director for the Western Pacific Region, said in an interview at the Muntinlupa Elementary School, where some evacuees are still housed.

The international experts are here for a three-week investigation on the kind of serovar or bacterial strain that is affecting the leptospirosis patients.

If doctors can pinpoint the virus strain circulating among the leptospirosis patients, it can help the government to procure the kind of vaccine specific to the virus.

“This is the best time to get blood samples from the patients, during the time that the cases are increasing. We want to know what kind of bacteria is prevailing so we could order the vaccine specific to the leptospirosis bacteria,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.

The experts will send the blood samples to a laboratory in Brisbane for further testing.

The DoH previously identified Marikina as the first city to suffer an outbreak on leptospirosis.

Marikina was heavily flooded at the height of tropical storm Ondoy last Sept. 26.

Three other towns in Pangasinan fell under the DoH watchlist on leptospirosis. These are the towns of Rosales, Mangaldan and Binmaley.

“This is a heightened alert because the number of leptospirosis has tripled compared to the number of cases last year. In 2008, there were 860 cases from January up to the end of October,” Duque said.

Dr. Soe Nyunt-U, WHO country representative. said the agency has already provided a total of $1 million worth of medical supplies and essential medicines and health kits to the evacuees. “We are raising $3.6 million for sterile kits and health kits. But WHO is raising an over-all amount of $15 million for the whole health cluster efforts.”