23 dead in 5 days in Kerala, leptospirosis on the rise in the state

An alert has been issued for leptospirosis, or rat fever in Kerala as the rising cases of the disease in the flood hit areas of Kozhikode breeds this rare bacterial infection.

The health department of Kerala has issued high alert for leptospirosis or rat fever and necessary actions are being taken to curb down the spread of the disease in the state. According to the reports coming in from Kerala, Kozhikode district alone has seen 8 persons lose their lives due to leptospirosis. The occurrences of rat fever have also been reported in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Malappuram besides Kozhikode.

More than 100, and 134 to be precise, people have approached various district hospitals with the symptoms of the disease that plaguing the state. And out of those, most number of patients have been reported in Thrissur, Palakkad and Kannur districts. And it's not new for the state, as 97 people have died already in the last 8 months due to rat fever.

Leptospirosis is a rare bacterial infection that affects humans from animals like dogs, rats and farm animals. The bacteria don't cause harm to the animals but have severe effects on human. Caused by bacterium Leptospira interrogans of the genus Leptospira family, it results in a wide range of symptoms in humans, which may be mistaken for some other disease as well.

Health officials, however, said that the state normally sees a lot of leptospirosis cases around the monsoons, but the number of people suffering from the bacterial disease will see a significant surge this time due to the devastating flood that has hit Kerala. When left untreated, rat fever can lead to serious health complications, including kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death in many cases.