The Westmoreland Health Department has

beefed up its public education campaign to sensitise the public about the

dangers of leptospirosis.

Health Promotion and Education Officer, Gerald

Miller, told JIS News that while there is no outbreak of the disease in the

parish, the department has to be proactive in light of the recent heavy rains.

As such, he is cautioning persons against wading in floodwaters that might have been contaminated with animal urine.

“We have been having some heavy downpours

and I have seen persons wading in waters in Savanna-la-Mar and its environs. We

just want to remind persons that by wading in contaminated water, the germs

can penetrate your skin,” he noted.

He cautioned that parents should also

ensure that children do not play in puddles when it rains.

Miller further argued that sugar cane

workers and persons who live near sugar cane fields should take particular

care.

“They are at a greater risk… Rats tend to

traverse cane fields and persons might come into contact with contaminated

cane. As a result, they might end up getting the germs in their system,” he

noted.

“We have been told by residents that in the

cane harvesting time, the rats tend to migrate from the cane fields and move

towards their drainage,” he added.

He said that individuals who work with or

handle animals are also at risk.

Leptospirosis is an infectious disease

caused by the leptospira bacteria that could lead to possible fatal infection

of the kidney, liver, brain, lung or heart.

While it cannot be spread from human to

human, it can be contracted through exposure to the urine or body fluids of

infected animals.