The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) health department on Saturday recorded 15 suspected cases of leptospirosis from all the wards of the city and one death from the disease. With rains on the rise, the numbers of lepto cases are expected to increase.
The first death from the disease was registered in the city recently, when a 35-year-old woman from Kandivali succumbed to lung complications after being infected. The victim, who lived in Kandivali (east), had a history of wading through floodwater, said the civic health report. “We appeal to people not to walk through flooded roads. And if they have wounds on their feet or legs, they should get it treated immediately,” said BMC pesticide officer Rajan Naringrekar.
Meanwhile, a doctor working in a BMC-run hospital said, “We have figured out BMC wards that have a large cattle population/ animal shelters. The infection spreads when the cattle’s contaminated urine or excreta mixes with water during monsoon and people walk through it.”
