Leptospirosis – Fiji Islands

31 % of the 16 people who’d checked in for leptospirosis had illegally-owned piggeries, Fiji.

Other cases had also been found among members of registered villages and informal settlements without proper planning, drainage, or water disposal systems.
The second outbreak of COVID-19 and the increase of flooding and cyclones, specifically in the West, had contributed to the spike in leptospirosis cases.

Different communities are covered, where services are brought directly to the community who are unable to come to health facilities, especially the elderly and the children. The program provides medical services directly to the community, including dental and oral care, health inspections and blood and sugar checks.Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals. In humans, it can cause a wide range of symptoms, some of which may be mistaken for other diseases. Some infected persons, however, may have no symptoms at all.

Signs and symptoms can range from none to mild (headaches, muscle pains, and fevers) to severe (bleeding in the lungs or meningitis).

The bacteria are spread to humans through animal urine, or water and soil contaminated with animal urine, coming into contact with the eyes, mouth, nose or breaks in the skin.

Without treatment, Leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.

The disease was historically known as “rice field jaundice” in ancient Chinese texts, “autumn fever”, “seven-day fever”, and “nanukayami fever” in Japan. The bacterium causing the disease was identified in 1908 in Japan.