15-year-old succumbs to leptospirosis, first death in Maharashtra this year

Kurla resident suspected to have picked up infection while playing in rain

Health officials claimed that when the first showers began in the city, residents of Milan Nagar were administered doxycycline as precautionary measure.

A 15-YEAR-OLD boy died from leptospirosis at Sion hospital on Monday, becoming the first victim of the infectious disease in the state this year. Parab Ramesh Kale, a resident of Milan Nagar at Kurla, was admitted to the hospital on Sunday. His condition worsened within a day. While civic officials maintained that it is a case of suspected leptospirosis death, a polymerase chain reaction test was conducted at the hospital that confirmed that the victim was suffering from leptospirosis.

A student of Class IX, Kale used to travel to his school at Chembur near Vashi naka in heavy rains. He had developed fever on June 22, after he played football in the rain with his friends. Civic officials said it is suspected that Kale first came in contact with the leptospira bacteria while playing football in the rain. Days later, he manifested symptoms of the infection, mainly headache, chills, body pain and sore throat.

He was initially treated by a local doctor but when his fever did not subside, he was admitted to Sion hospital. “We suspect the family delayed his hospitalisation. He was brought to hospital only on June 24 and passed away on June 25…,” an official said.

Story continues below this ad

Health officials claimed that when the first showers began in the city, residents of Milan Nagar were administered doxycycline as precautionary measure. “It is effective for 48 hours. But since the boy had left for school, he missed the dose,” a civic official from L ward (Kurla) said. “The death will be confirmed after the review of the epidemiological investigation committee report,” said BMC’s executive health officer Dr Padmaja Keskar.

On Tuesday, following Kale’s demise, BMC health workers inspected 1,200 households and covered a population of 3,500 people in Kurla East to screen for possible leptospirosis patients. At least one case of fever and four cases of cough were detected. “But they are not related to leptospirosis infection,” a health worker said. The BMC is trying to trace Kale’s friends whom he played football with to ensure they have not developed similar symptoms.

So far, data from the state public health department shows that at 11, Mumbai has recorded the maximum number of leptospirosis cases in Maharashtra between January to June. Across the state, 19 cases of leptospirosis have been recorded. “So far, no death has been reported in any other district,” said state epidemiologist Dr Pradeep Awate.
The bacterial infection spreads in humans mostly through urine of infected animals that mixes with water and soil and survives for long periods. In Mumbai, cattle and rodents are known to commonly transmit the bacteria.

A BMC report studying the health profile of patients visiting civic hospitals between October 2015 to September 2017 had found that leptospirosis was the ninth most common ailment reported in tertiary care hospitals, including KEM, Sion, Nair and RN Cooper hospitals. Dengue was the second most common infection that required hospitalisation.

Story continues below this ad

Between March till July last year, the BMC had inspected gaushalas for cattle waste management system. It had found that in the 628 gaushalas inspected, no protocol was in place to handle cattle waste. In most cases, cattle urine was washed using water that collected on roads, increasing the risk of the bacteria spreading. There are 82 gaushalas in the eastern and 244 in the western suburbs. At 46, Malad (P north ward) has the most number of gaushalas in the city.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
Mumbai rains