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Avoiding leptospirosis

Fresh water on Kauai may be contaminated with the bacterium that causes leptospirosis. There’s a pamphlet about leptospirosis that’s available from the Kauai Department of Health (3040 Umi Street, Lihue, HI 96766, (808) 245-4495). The following summarizes some of its contents: Muddy and clear water are both suspect. The bacterium invades through broken skin or the nose, mouth, or eyes. It enters the bloodstream and infects different organs, particularly the kidneys. Precautions that would especially apply to you here are not to go into streams if you have open cuts or abrasions and not to drink [untreated] stream water.

If you do swim in fresh water on Kauai, you should know that the incubation period of leptospirosis is 2–20 days. The onset is sudden and is characterized by “high fever, with chills and sweats, severe headache, muscle pains, weakness, and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea.” You should see a physician immediately if you suspect leptospirosis. A “best” course of treatment hasn’t been established, but it’s believed that administering certain antibiotics early in the course of the disease will shorten the disease and make symptoms less severe. The pamphlet says that most cases are mild and that people [with mild cases] recover in a week or two without treatment. However, severe leptospirosis infections may damage kidneys, liver, or heart and may even cause death.