Leptospirosis claims one life in Valsad

SURAT: A 22-year-old youth of Vaghasiya village in Valsad district's Pardi taluka died of suspected leptospirosis on Saturday, this year's first casualty of the disease in south Gujarat. Mahesh Suman Patel was admitted to a Valsad Hospital on Friday and in the clinical examination it was found that he was suffering from leptospirosis, sources said. The results of his blood samples were still awaited.
At this time of the year, many cases of leptospirosis are reported from Valsad and Navsari districts.However, the first case of leptospirosis this year in the region has been reported from Surat district after a patient was found to be suffering from the disease at the city's New Civil Hospital. Harshad Bhana Dhodiya Patel, 35, of Vagheshwar village of Mahuva taluka in Surat was referred to NCH and is undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit. His initial treatment was done at the primary health centre (PHC) and Bardoli referral hospital. When his condition did not improve and his blood samples showed that he was suffering from leptospirosis, Patel was brought to NCH, sources said. A farm worker, Patel, NCH experts believe got infected while working in the farms in the first rains.
Over a 100 people die every year due to leptospirosis during the monsoon season and most of the victims happen to be farm workers. The leptospirosis bacteria infect humans when they work in waterlogged fields during the monsoon. The mice and cattles are the carriers of leptospirosis bacteria which stay alive in waterlogged fields and infect a human through any wound in the body.
According to leptospirosis experts at NCH, more new cases are expected on Wednesday from all over south Gujarat as heavy rains are lashing the region for the past one week.
yagnesh.mehta@timesgroup.com