Eastern Visayas is again experiencing an outbreak of leptospirosis cases brought about by relentless rain and flooding. It is not an outbreak; it is a grim consequence of poor urban drainage, compromised health surveillance, and public complacency in avoiding contact with contaminated floodwaters. The risk is obvious, but individuals still expose themselves as if an infection is only a remote threat and not an imminent one.
Leptospirosis is not a new illness, nor is it a trivial illness. It thrives in floodwaters with urine from rats, and when acquired, it results in kidney failure, meningitis, and death. The rains are of no use whatsoever, and all streets become breeding grounds for bacteria. Health authorities give warnings, yet many still swim through dirty water without protection, heeding none until symptoms manifest. By then, it is always too late. The stubborn fantasy that these infections happen to “other people” has resulted in avoidable deaths.
Excusing the weather is a good excuse, but this does not exempt local authorities from blame. Inadequate garbage disposal and drainage maintenance have converted urban areas into pools of stagnant water. Year by year, the flood worsens because canals are clogged by garbage, but little sense of urgency is made to correct this chronic failure. There are campaigns by the health department, but when there is no firm step toward enacting safety and prevention, they fall far short. Local authorities might only regard leptospirosis as another annual health issue, not as a crisis that needs their immediate attention or the number of dead will only keep on growing.
No less troubling, though, is the public’s neglect of the common sense precautionary measures. They will refuse to wear foot coverings, ignore prophylactic antibiotics, and think a low-grade temperature will break spontaneously without repercussions. This is just a demonstration of an absence of discipline and cultural disposition towards reactive, not preventive, medicine. Individuals walking through knee-deep floodwaters without shoes should not become the norm. Every avoidable contact with polluted water is a danger to one’s life, yet the lesson is never learned.
This vicious cycle of neglect—by authorities and the public alike—needs to be shattered. Local governments need to work hard to upgrade drainage systems, enforce proper waste management, and offer prophylactic treatment on a mass scale. Citizens, in turn, need to do their bit by staying away from floodwaters, using protective clothing, and reporting immediately for medical treatment at the first sign of illness. Leptospirosis is not destiny; it is an avoidable disease. It is time to act responsibly.
