Leptospirosis survivor cautions citizens

Twenty-five-year-old Venesh Boodram, from Granville in south Trinidad is thanking God for sparing his life. He said in an instant his whole life changed when he was diagnosed with Leptospirosis. “My life as I knew it just slipped before my eyes all because of rat poisoning, “ he said tearfully According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Leptospirosis is an infection in rodents and other wild and domesticated species. Rodents are implicated most often in human cases. The infection in man is contracted through skin abrasions and the mucosa of the nose, mouth and eyes. Exposure through water contaminated by urine from infected animals is the most common route of infection.

Human-to-human transmission is rare. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira.

In humans, it can cause a wide range of symptoms, some of which may be mistaken for other diseases. Some infected persons, however, may have no symptoms at all. Without treatment, Leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.

Speaking with Newsday recently , Boodram said he wanted his experience to be a wake-up call to all citizens that you should never take life for granted. The young construction worker recalled that he went for a swim in pond in his village with some friends on July 16 . “I just went out to lime with my friends and have a good time “ he said. The next morning he fell ill. “It felt like a normal virus, I was taking Panadol, it was only when I started to cough up blood that I went to the health centre.” According to Boodram, he was told he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) and awoke seven days after.

“I am thankful to the Lord that I opened my eyes to see another day.” he said.

Lecturer Anaesthetics and Intensive Care, Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, UWI and consultant in intensive care, Dr Keevan Singh ,explained that severe leptospirosis, also known as Weil’s disease, can cause kidney failure and bleeding in the lungs. The mortality rate for this condition is very high. These patients are usually admitted to the ICU, placed on mechanical ventilation and in most cases would need some form of dialysis (kidney support) as well as treatment for the underlying condition which may have already started. When asked about the survival rate from leptospirosis, Singh said that this usually depends on the age and the underlying condition.

He stated that older patients will generally not do as well as a young person and if the underlying condition is curable, the outcome is usually good.Generally, the more organs affected by the disease condition (e.g heart, lungs, kidney, brain, liver) the worse the outcome - this is referred to as multi-organ failure.” When asked what are some challenges for recovering patients from the Intensive Care Unit, Singh said, “ Even if a patient survives and is discharged from the ICU, there are still many challenges to face. Most ICU patients will be extremely weak, a condition referred to as ICU acquired weakness, this means they will need help with most of their basic activities.”Singh also explained that in most cases leptospirosis is mild and uneventful.

Boodram expressed thanks to all the doctors and nurses at the SFGH, who helped him recover from this illness. In a final message to citizens, he said, “This has been a very traumatic experience for me , I am still recovering. My family ,friends and villagers have supported me a lot, I would like to tell everyone to be very careful about where you go and what you eat.”