In Pasco, two active cases of leptospirosis were confirmed in recent days. The sick people were co-workers in a dairy farm and one of them died (see more information on page 7, of Regional). That is why the Institute of Basic and Applied Sciences of the National University of Villa María (UNVM) provided important information to society, based on an interview with a professor of Veterinary Medicine, César Bonetto, which took place in the following terms.
-What is leptospirosis?
-It is a disease caused by a bacteria that can be present in the urine of certain animals such as rodents, dogs, cows, pigs, horses and wild animals. There are many sets of variants that can be classified into 35 serogroups and more than 200 serovars, so they have many strains. There are even some strains that are specific to certain species.
-How is it transmitted?
-Infection is mainly through contact with urine, either direct, through contaminated water or an environment contaminated with the urine that is excreted from infected animals, and generally survives very well in humid environments protected from light. Therefore, we say that the main risk of acquiring the disease is having contact with urine or with elements that are contaminated with it.
-What are the symptoms of this disease?
-The symptoms that appear are generally linked to a flu condition with fever, headache, muscle pain, and can even later lead to a much more serious condition, causing a yellowish color to the skin due to jaundice, kidney failure, hemorrhages. , or even myocarditis with arrhythmia, it can even cause meningitis. For this reason, it is essential to always go to a doctor who can make a professional diagnosis, thus enabling antibiotic treatment. This early medical attention is crucial, since there, depending on the severity, it will be determined whether the treatment is performed orally, intravenously, or requires even more intensive care.
-Based on the two confirmed cases in Pasco, what are the preventive measures to take into account?
-When thinking about prevention we have to take into account that there are two types of reservoirs for the bacteria.
One that behaves as an adapted host, in which no symptoms are seen, but is an asymptomatic condition, but which has a very long excretion period and which are rodents. These constitute the most important reservoir for the maintenance of leptospira in the environment because they do not present with symptoms that make their circulation difficult, for example.
On the other hand, there are accidental hosts, where we find the human being, who does show symptoms and, therefore, it is easier to isolate them and treat them in time. Therefore, we say that the main thing to address to prevent leptospirosis is to eliminate all rodents and also maximize the hygiene conditions where you work.
It was learned that both infected men worked in a dairy farm doing milking and handling other animals such as pigs and sheep.
-Is there a danger of contagion from consuming foods derived from these animals, whether milk or meat?
-Safety measures such as gloves and boots should always be used in these types of establishments, but even more so when cases of leptospirosis are confirmed. Despite this, for the final consumer there is no risk of contracting the disease by ingesting products, whether meat or milk, from those animals where the outbreak occurred, because there is no excretion; that is, milk and meat are not contaminated or infected.
-As you already said, urine is the most important means of excretion and it is in contact with it that contagion occurs, or is there also excretion in cases of animal abortions for example, which undoubtedly also contaminates?
-It is also important to mention that outbreaks of leptospirosis epidemics can occur after floods or very continuous rains. This is a very important fact to take into account, because when this microorganism appears, its survival will depend greatly on the conditions of the context and, for example, when water comes into contact with contaminated urine, an environment conducive to its spread is created. We also suggest consulting licensed veterinarians, since another control measure is to vaccinate animals, all species, whether bovine, pig or canine.
