Andhra Pradesh   

Leptospirosis surfaces in Hyderabad

Y. Mallikarjun

HYDERABAD: Leptospirosis, a bacterial disease stated to be uncommon in Hyderabad, has surfaced even as Andhra Pradesh is in the grip of a viral fever epidemic. While a spurt in water-borne and other fevers is normally witnessed every year during the monsoon, "an unusually high number of viral fevers," apart from chikungunya, had been noticed this year, physicians from leading corporate hospitals told The Hindu here on Tuesday.

According to Dr. K. V. Kamesh of CARE hospitals, there were a very large number of viral fever cases, compared to previous years. The number of patients with skin rashes was also higher. "Normally we don't see so many patients with rashes on account of viral fever." He said that laboratory tests had confirmed at least 17 cases of leptospirosis. "It is uncommon in Hyderabad unlike Mumbai where a separate ward is set up every rainy season to treat patients at KEM hospital. It is a new problem."

Symptoms

The symptoms include fever, headache, joint pains, shivering and red eyes. It could lead to liver damage and kidney failure in severe cases. The disease, contracted through exposure to water contaminated with the urine of an infected rat or other animals, could prove fatal, if untreated. Penicillin or doxycycline drugs are administered to control it. Dr. Aftab Ahmed of Apollo hospitals said there was a "very high incidence of chikungunya and dengue" cases this year. Dengue could be life-threatening at times due to shock syndrome and bleeding episodes. However, this haemorrhagic manifestation was not seen in chikungunya here though it was reported in some countries. There could be relapse in 10-15 per cent of the patients due to chronic arthritis.

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