Leptospirosis Case

CHAPTER 1:

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

1.1. Introduction

Leptospirosis is one of the deadliest bacterial infection that I commonly acquired in tropical countries. you can get the disease when you were exposed to soils and waters that is contaminated by leptospira bacteria.

Rodents such as rats are the primary carriers of the leptospirosis bacteria. It is important to identify the signs of rodent infestation at home. If you regularly see rodent droppings around food packages, in drawers, cupboards, under the sink, then your house is infested. Whenever you see such droppings or boxes of food, or wirings that has rodent bites, you must take an action.

Symptoms can take 2 - 26 days (average 10 days) to develop this may include: dry cough, fever, headache, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, shaking chills, less common symptoms include: abdominal pain, abnormal lung sounds, bone pain, conjunctivitis, enlarged lymph glands, enlarged spleen or liver, joint aches, muscle rigidity, muscle tenderness, skin rash and sore throat. (Dugdale III, 2010)

Test to be done to find if you contract leptospirosis are the following: CBC (Complete blood count), creatine kinase, urinalysis. Medications are given to the patient but complicated cases however are life-threatening if not treated promptly. The fatality rate of the disease is 5-40. (Dugdale III, 2010)

Here in the Philippines one of the most common cause of leptospirosis is flood water. Leptospirosis cases goes up in the rainy period. In Metro Manila, improper disposal of our wastes such as plastics, domestic wastes, and others blocks the water pass on the sink or to the drainage system. This causes floods even in just a small amount of rain. And garbage attracts rodents that carry a letpospira bacteria and it contaminates the flood water that leads to acquiring the leptospirosis.

1.2. Background of the study

Flash floods are common throughout the Philippine archipelago during the monsoon seasons, which runs from the June to December. They are particularly common in Manila, the country's sprawling capital and home of 14 million Filipino's. The awareness of the people is very much important especially when flash floods or typhoons occur.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease which could be contracted by humans when exposed to flood waters containing urine infected animals like rats, dog, and pigs. The leptospirosis cases was caused by the widespread flooding caused by the typhoons that affected the Luzon areas. In Quezon City one barangay, barangay Gulod, has encountered many cases of leptospirosis.

Barangay Gulod is located near the Tullahan River and Kaybuktot Creek. The barangay itself is along the Quirino Highway. The barangay is big but because of poor urban development program the drainage system is still a problem during the rainy seasons they have the most number of incidents of leptospirosis cases in the past 3 years.

In 2009 the disease, according to the record of Department of Health (DOH) has afflicted more people in Metro Manila, attributing the "Outbreak" to large numbers of people wading in flood waters carrying the bacteria. The DOH had recorded 1,027 leptospirosis patients, wherein 89 died. There were 122 cases in Quezon City alone with 14 cases in Barangay Gulod. (Quezon City Health Department [QCHD], 2011)

In 2010, leptospirosis was noted as the fourth on the list of the top disease outbreaks in the Philippines. The DOH has recorded over 400 leptospirosis cases in the first half of the year (Department of Health [DOH], 2010), which includes 26 deaths with 1 case in Barangay Gulod. (QCHD, 2010)

Recently, the Department of Health released an announcement that casualties from leptospirosis has increased 247% in 10 months (January-October) in Metro Manila with number of 131 cases of Leptospirosis in Quezon City with 5 cases in barangay Gulod.

It usually takes two weeks after the infection to manifest flu-like symptoms. If not diagnosed early enough, it can lead to more severe symptom and may cause death. Mild infections can be treated by antibiotics like doxycyline, but for severe infections generally, they require Intravenous Penicillin which is still dangerous because the patient might encounter the Jarisch-Hexheimer reaction. This disease needs prompt medication upon its contraction. (Uy, 2011)

1.3. Theoretical Framework

Systems design approach is interconnected, interdependent and interacting problems that seeks to create an action to take the entity as a whole. It implies that we take the responsibility of the whole thing to be able to create future better by understanding the nature and saving the environment by fulfilling its requirement on saving it. (Laszlo & Krippner, 1998).

Living in this planet, there are things we need to maintain. The Systems Design is said that it is interconnected and interacting problems. Meaning every problem we do, creates another one and relates to another, everything is a chain from small to the biggest. Just like what is happening here in the Philippines right now the people who throws their trash everywhere creates a bigger problem.

Systems Design is participatory by nature (Bethany, 1996), meaning everyone from the society can make a change on how the problem will be solved by making small steps on providing a remedy on their problems. They can engage themselves by becoming an active participant on change and they can be more resourceful.

Bela Bethany (1996), a Systems Theorist characterized the systems design focusing the humanities to be, experience oriented, rational, neutral, and it has concerns on future generations . (Banathy, 1996, pp. 34-35.)

Here in the Philippines we believe that systems design by being participatory makes people move on their own on the time of calamities. Disasters are made by simple forms of action. Nowadays when it rained a little it floods the city and that would make people alarmed and take actions. And by that they will learn from their mistakes and try to solve their problem as a "system" and functioning as one.

Because being in a societal systems human beings actively apply their skills to the analysis of the design of socially and ecologically sustainable systems by becoming active participants of their community on shaping their future. (Laszlo & Krippner, 1998)

1.4. Conceptual Framework

This part of the paper will serve as a guide to study systems approach of the input-process-output devised by Stoner, Freeman and Gilbert Jr. (1995). The system has flows of information,