Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that humans can contract from animals. It is spread whenever animals, especially rodents and dogs, urinate in the water.
Leptospirosis can be unpleasant, but unlike flu, it is not life-threatening in most cases. The symptoms rarely last more than one week.
However, when you have a severe case of leptospirosis, you will first get better and then get sick once again. This is now called Weil’s disease, which can lead to serious health problems. Examples of this are swollen legs and arms plus chest pain, which requires hospitalization.
Nowadays, some water sources can be contaminated by leptospirosis. But no worries, there are ways to treat the water from this bacteria.
Thus, in this article, we will understand more about leptospirosis and how to treat your water source.
How Can One Get Leptospirosis?
Leptospirosis is caused by a bacteria known as “Leptospira interrogans.” This bacteria can be found in most animals that live in their kidneys. Whenever they urinate, the bacteria end up in the soil or water.
When you are around water or soil contaminated with animal urine, bacteria can invade your body through wounds or dry areas.
Moreover, it can enter through your mouth, nose, or genitals. It is difficult to acquire leptospirosis from other humans. However, research suggests that it can be passed through breastfeeding or sexual intercourse.
You are at risk of having leptospirosis whenever you spend most of your time with animals or outdoors. Also, you can get it when rafting, swimming, or camping near affected rivers or lakes.
The Leptospira bacteria can thrive in a high-humidity environment with a neutral pH of 6.9 to 7.4. They can live in stagnant water reservoirs like ponds, bogs, shallow lakes, and puddles because these are their natural habitat. You will be more exposed to leptospirosis if your job is one of the following:
- Veterinarian
- Farmer
- Miner, sewer, or underground worker
- Slaughterhouse worker
- Military personnel
Note that leptospirosis is often found in warm climates. The bacteria can be found worldwide but is common in Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Research shows that there are around 100 to 150 cases of leptospirosis in the United States each year.
Leptospirosis outbreaks can occur after flooding or heavy rainfall in endemic areas. This is especially true for areas with poor sanitation conditions or poor housing.
Historically, Leptospirosis is a rural disease. However, it has become an urban epidemic in developing countries and developing nations.
For example, there is a Leptospirosis outbreak in India due to poor drainage, and people can get infected through unintentional ingestion or skin abrasion. Street vendors also provide contaminated food and beverages.
Moreover, leptospirosis can be caused by inadequately treated raw or tap water sources or by contact with infected rat populations.
Natural Disasters
Flooding from natural disasters like hurricanes, storms, and monsoons can drown areas with contaminated water. This can pose dangerous health concerns to the citizens, especially children, pregnant women, and the elderly.
Raw standing water can contain various bacterial contaminants, such as cysts and viruses.
Meanwhile, water treatment plants in low-lying areas can be compromised, spilling treated sewage from open basins and pipes holding pumps and tanks.
Finally, infrastructure damage and power outages can lead to water shortages or unreliable water quality.
Symptoms of Leptospirosis
Within two weeks after contamination, you can see the signs and symptoms of leptospirosis. However, in some cases, the symptoms might not show up for one month or more.
When you have the disease, it will hit you fast. First, you can have a fever, which may spike up to 104 F. Some more symptoms are muscle aches, headache, vomiting, skin rash, and diarrhea.
Most of these symptoms are the same as other diseases, such as meningitis and the flu. Thus, it is essential to get tested.
Meanwhile, leptospirosis can be treated with antibiotics such as doxycycline and penicillin. Your doctor may also recommend ibuprofen for muscle pain and fever.
How to Treat Leptospirosis
Patients who are experiencing a severe type of leptospirosis will have to spend some time in the hospital. The stay in the hospital can range from a few days to weeks or months, depending on how the patient responds to the antibiotic given by the doctor.
After that, they will have to receive antibiotics intravenously for quick relief. Intravenous fluids can avoid the loss of essential nutrients and hydration, which can prevent further complications.
The patient affected with leptospirosis will need to use a ventilator if he has difficulty breathing, depending on the organ affected by leptospirosis. Meanwhile, if the bacteria has affected the kidneys, then dialysis is necessary.
If the mother is pregnant, leptospirosis can also affect the fetus. Those with the infection during pregnancy will have to spend some time in the hospital for monitoring.
How to Reduce the Risk of Acquiring Leptospirosis
If you are involved in activities in wet soil or freshwater, there are steps that you can take to reduce your risk of acquiring leptospirosis. Indeed, prevention is essential. Here are the things that you can do:
Research the Place of Outdoor Activity
Research the place in which you will be spending your outdoor activity. Be informed of the potential risks, especially if you are going to a place for vacation.
Try to avoid swimming or going to lakes, swamps, or rivers that are contaminated with leptospirosis. After contact with damp soil or freshwater, wash your hands and face with water and soap.
If exposure to contaminated water is unavoidable, consider communicating with your doctor. He may prescribe medicine to prevent leptospirosis.
Wear Personal Protective Equipment
Wear protective shoes or clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE) during outdoor activities. Avoid walking barefoot in places potentially contaminated with mud or water.
Wait for your Wounds to Heal
Before going on wet soil or freshwater, make sure that you wait for your scrapes or cuts to get healed. If the wounds take too long to heal and your trip is going on, see to it that you cover it with watertight bandages.
Avoid Contact with Infected Animals Like Wild Rats
Rodents and rats are the main carriers of leptospirosis bacteria. In the West, around 20% of wild rats have leptospirosis. If you come in contact with their habitat, be sure that you are extremely careful.
Their farm animals are vaccinated in developed countries, unlike in developing countries. Thus, there’s less risk. If the animal is ill, avoid getting bitten, or the bacteria will transfer via fluids. Remember that the disease can’t be transferred through the air like flu or cold.
Be Aware of the Surroundings
In foreign countries with poor sanitation, leptospirosis can be harder to avoid. Thus, it is best to recognize the symptoms and seek immediate health attention as much as possible.
Use Disinfectant
Acid solutions, Lysol, Bleach, and iodine can kill the bacteria. Thus, it is best to keep them on hand to clean yourself and eliminate the bacteria.
Be Careful in Preparing your Food
Always be careful when preparing your food. Avoid consuming raw milk, unpasteurized juices, or unpasteurized dairy products. Wash raw produce like fruits and vegetables thoroughly.
This is true for green and leafy vegetables, which can provide crevices for bacteria to adhere to. Therefore, it is important to carefully rinse the food you prepare to remove dirt and bacteria.
Finally, meat and non-meat products should be stored separately, and chopping boards should be used as much as possible.
Avoid Drinking Contaminated Water
If you are visiting a foreign country, do not drink the water unless you are sure it is clean. Since leptospirosis can enter the body through different openings, avoiding sailing, waterskiing, swimming, or fishing in freshwater areas is also best. It is safer to fish in saltwater areas.
Disinfecting the Drinking Water
Disinfecting drinking water is not difficult, even outdoors or in a foreign country. However, this depends on how much water you need or how permanent the water problem is in your area.
Disinfecting one bottle of water during your camping trip is not the same as processing the water spring that will flow into your entire house.
Thus, here are some techniques that you can try to disinfect your water and prevent leptospirosis:
Boiling Water
Boiling water for a few minutes kills the bacteria and pathogens in lakes and rivers. Thus, boiling water works best if you only want water in small volumes. Boiling is the first option for camping trips.
With boiling, the food cooked at or above the boiling point, like meat, is safe to consume. Boiling needs a power source, but it doesn’t require chemicals. Thus, it is acceptable to try to use a method that has less impact on their diet.
Meanwhile, boiling is not recommended for the general household water supply. But you can try it to make your drinking water safe.
Iodine Tablets
Water purification tablets that utilize iodine are also effective. They don’t need a heat source, but they can leave a taste that some people find unpleasant.
Meanwhile, iodine tablets are easy to use and lightweight, especially when traveling. Hikers, campers, and military personnel bring iodine tablets to clean drinking water in the wild, making them an ideal option for those always on the go.
Finally, iodine tablets are ineffective for disinfecting large volumes of household water to fight leptospirosis. You can try other disinfecting options, such as Chlorination or UV sterilizers.
UV Sterilizers
UV sterilizers are an effective option for fighting leptospirosis and other pathogens. They can be bought on different scales. Permanent systems that use electricity to process water flow inside the house are also available.
However, they can be expensive and beyond the budget of some homeowners.
Meanwhile, portable devices incorporate UV sterilizers such as pens, flashlights, or tumblers, which can sterilize a cup of water. However, you will need to buy batteries for this.
UV sterilizers do not require chemicals. Moreover, they require less electricity than boiling water for the same volume. However, the water needs to be transparent.
Thus, it is not recommended to be used in disinfecting fluids like milk.
Chlorination
Water not used for drinking, such as ornamental features and swimming, can be disinfected and protected from leptospirosis by chlorination. It is a complex engineering process, especially in commercial pools.
However, owners would usually add tablets to the water in private pools.
It is best to keep the chlorine levels high but not so high that they trigger allergies. Thus, testing the water first with the kits available in pool stores is best.
When you follow the instructions on the chlorine packets, chlorine can kill leptospirosis in commercial pools.
Conclusion
In summary, leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects animals and humans. It causes many signs and symptoms that can be mistaken for other diseases, and some people may not experience any symptoms at all.
You can try to prevent leptospirosis by avoiding contaminated waters, wearing protective clothing, or disinfecting your water source. If you think you have leptospirosis, it is best to consult your doctor for immediate medical attention. Please don’t wait for it to worsen your condition.
Without treatment, Leptospirosis can lead to meningitis, kidney damage, inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, respiratory distress, and even death. Thus, prevention is better to prevent these things from happening to you and your family.
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