00:00 This past June, 20-year-old Neil Vert was hit by severe leptospirosis.
00:06 I can't breathe properly. I can't breathe.
00:10 It's a short period of time. When I vomit, I can't breathe properly.
00:15 Aside from the flood, where else can we get this disease?
00:20 Neil Vert did not expect that he would lose his life because of leptospirosis.
00:29 It started with a simple illness that he thought was caused by the rain.
00:34 On Monday afternoon, when I got home, I got a headache.
00:39 I was about to pass out. I took my medicine.
00:42 When Wednesday came, I couldn't breathe.
00:46 I was vomiting and I always went to the bathroom.
00:50 I also read my diary.
00:53 On Thursday, my illness got worse.
00:59 His eyes and lungs also turned yellow.
01:02 He couldn't breathe.
01:05 When I vomited, the blood came out.
01:09 The blood came out of my lungs. I couldn't breathe properly.
01:14 He was rushed to the hospital.
01:18 When we arrived at the hospital, my blood pressure was confirmed.
01:24 The doctor said that I was ready to be diagnosed with leptospirosis.
01:29 Neil Vert's illness was confirmed as severe leptospirosis.
01:34 He suspects that he got it from the flood.
01:38 I went to the market.
01:40 Maybe it was because of the flood, I was also able to breathe.
01:45 Leptospirosis is a type of zoonotic disease.
01:49 It means that a person gets infected from the urine of an animal like a rat.
01:55 Leptospira is the bacteria that causes leptospirosis.
02:00 It usually symptoms are fever, headache, cold, cough, and jaundice.
02:07 It is the yellowing of the skin and eyes.
02:10 According to the expert,
02:13 Leptospira usually enters our body through open wounds or skin abrasions.
02:18 It can also enter our mucous membrane like our nose, mouth, and eyes.
02:24 Leptospirosis usually affects our body through stones, liver, and lungs.
02:31 Commonly, we see patients who need to undergo dialysis.
02:37 They go into acute kidney failure.
02:40 They are affected by their kidneys.
02:44 The same thing also happens to the liver.
02:46 When the patient's liver turns yellow, it means that there is a complication in the liver.
02:50 Now, our lungs are the one that is affected.
02:53 If our lungs are too swollen, the body loses oxygen.
02:58 Meanwhile, Nielvert needed to be hospitalized to rest.
03:04 He also underwent 6 sessions of dialysis.
03:08 The good thing about this disease is that even if the organs temporarily shut down,
03:16 it does not work.
03:17 After about one week, the kidneys recover.
03:21 What is needed is temporary dialysis.
03:24 We will remove the toxins or excess fluid that accumulated in the body.
03:30 I was confined for 2 weeks and 5 days.
03:34 I was also in the ICU.
03:37 I was shown an X-ray that showed that there was no more blood.
03:41 It was very clean.
03:43 Almost the whole world has been diagnosed with leptospirosis.
03:47 But we have more cases in tropical countries like our country.
03:51 According to the DOH, from January to June of this year,
03:55 1,699 cases of leptospirosis have been diagnosed in the country.
04:01 Of the 174, the cause of death is here.
04:06 Residents of Barangay Vitalis also have a problem.
04:09 Flooding occurs in Paranaque City whenever it rains.
04:12 To avoid leptospirosis, which is a possible cause of flooding,
04:17 their solution is to catch the flood in exchange for rice.
04:21 Our barangay has a program to help in the prevention of leptospirosis.
04:28 Residents will catch the flood and they will exchange rice for rice.
04:35 Aside from rice, we also added another 100 pesos.
04:39 That's why residents here are always on the lookout for floods.
04:44 We caught Ms. Janet who was caught by the flood.
04:50 She puts traps in her house almost every day.
04:55 But she doesn't do it for the exchange of rice and money.
05:00 But so that the tragedy in her family will not happen again.
05:05 It was October last year when Ms. Janet's mister was sick due to leptospirosis.
05:11 She was diagnosed with leptospirosis when she was pregnant.
05:15 She couldn't walk for a few days.
05:19 She was blind.
05:21 It was painful because we didn't expect that to happen.
05:25 We were like blind.
05:28 Residents will bury the flood victims and make their barangay fertile.
05:35 Last year, we had two cases.
05:40 This year, because of our program,
05:44 the flood victims, the help of people,
05:47 and the doxycycline that we will give to our residents,
05:54 we were not affected this year.
05:57 But according to the expert,
05:59 leptospirosis can not only be caused by floods.
06:03 It can also be caused by food that was left behind and that was eaten by fish.
06:08 Maybe a fresh vegetable that was not cooked.
06:11 The water that you will use to wash the vegetables
06:16 must be really clean.
06:19 Boil your water first.
06:22 You have to boil it for a certain time.
06:24 Then let it cool down.
06:27 When it cools down, that's when you use it.
06:31 Doc reminds us to avoid flooding.
06:35 We have to be preventive.
06:38 When we commute, when it rains,
06:41 we bring enough clothes.
06:45 You said we should wear boots.
06:49 Wear your raincoat, umbrella.
06:51 Those who work in wet markets,
06:55 they have to clean the canals.
06:59 You should wear the proper protective equipment.
07:03 As long as you have risk factors,
07:05 then you have to take the medicine already.
07:08 The dirty environment is often the cause of illness.
07:13 That's why during the rainy season,
07:15 we should maintain cleanliness.
07:18 To avoid the danger of leptospirosis.
07:22 Thank you.
07:23 [Music]
07:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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