LETTERS: IT is heart-warming seeing people from all walks of life contributing food and money to flood victims.
Let us also do our part to prevent water-borne diseases that tend to spread after floods.
Some common water-borne diseases – such as leptospirosis, typhoid fever, cholera, and hepatitis A and E – can spread easily via contaminated water.
Studies conducted by local universities during the December 2014 Kelantan floods showed a two-fold increase of leptospirosis cases after the floods.
The cases peaked in July 2015 with more than 100 cases reported per 100,000 population.
The most common method of transmission is exposure to water contaminated with urine from carrier animals, particularly rats.
Many people are not aware that leptospirosis not only can spread through ingestion of contaminated water, but also through skin, eyes, ears or nasal exposure to contaminated water or damp soil.
The risk is greater if the exposed body part has broken skin, such as a wound or an abrasion.
Prevention of water-borne diseases should be instituted immediately to mitigate the potential spread of such diseases.
First, ensure the hygiene level of drinking water and food. Make sure that the water is fully boiled and stored in clean containers.
Second, avoid direct contact with flood waters by wearing boots and personal protective equipment.
Cover wounds with waterproof dressings or apply an antiseptic ointment to minimise infection.
Local councils can urge people to maintain rodent control measures and to recognise leptospirosis symptoms.
Once infected with the pathogen causing leptospirosis, the bacteria takes seven to 10 days to incubate in our body.
The disease tends to demonstrate two phases of acute illness.
The first phase could be mistaken as Covid-19 because infected patients experience abrupt onset of a flu-like illness, with chills, muscle aches, severe headache or some might suffer from vomiting.
Second phase symptoms normally appear a few days after the flu-like illness has disappeared.
Some patients demonstrate symptoms such as fast heartbeat and swelling of the feet or ankles.
A worsening disease could progress to kidney or liver failure, respiratory distress and meningitis, which might be fatal.
We can reduce the risk of leptospirosis infection by avoiding direct contact with contaminated water or soil containing animal urine.
For people working in high risk areas close to drainage, water-treatment plants or leptospirosis cases, they should receive short-term prophylaxis with prescribed antibiotics.
Affected households can disinfect their home using disinfectant prepared from concentrated benzalkonium chloride or chlorine dioxide.
You can refer to the list of surface disinfectants approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency, which posts an updated list on its webpage.
Associate Professor Dr Ching Siang Tan
Associate Professor Dr Long Ming
Penang
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times