Fiji records 69 cases of leptospirosis, 4 deaths

Leptospirosis, a bacterial infection spread through the urine of rodents and other animals, has gripped Fiji this monsoon, with 69 cases of infections being reported by authorities until Thursday, while four people have died.

"We are seeing cases from all over the Central Division, we have noted cases from Naitasiri, Rewa, as well as Serua and Namosi and we are seeing cases from urban areas as well as some of the rural areas," Dr Aalisha Sahukhan, head of Health Protection in Fiji's Ministry of Health, stated.

Sahukhan added that health workers were closely working with households to contain the disease, reports Xinhua.

"They will actually go down to the household level, visit households and inspect these households then give advice to families that live there about preventative measures including keeping the household clean, keeping the household free of animals to minimize the spread of this disease within the communities itself," she said.

Workers will also go through a refresher course on guidelines regarding leptospirosis treatment to tackle the outbreak more efficiently.

Authorities have also asked communities to not associate themselves with animals during the rainy season.

The disease, which is found mostly in tropical conditions, affects both humans and animals. Humans get infected by the bacterial disease when they come in direct contact with the urine of infected animals. Some of the early symptoms of the disease include high fever, muscle pain, headache, redness of the eye, vomiting, diarrhoea among others.