A single dose of doxycycline 200 mg tablet is effective as a preventive medicine against leptospirosis, a bacterial infection, if given to the flood-affected within a week of the natural calamity.
This was found in a case control study done by T. Jayakrishnan, Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kozhikode, and Swathi Vipinan Koramboor, and Athira Thottathan, junior residents at the department. A case control study compares two groups of people: those with the disease or condition under the study (cases) and a similar group who does not have the disease or condition (controls). Titled ‘Post Flood Chemoprophylaxis with Doxycycline for Leptospirosis in an Endemic Area,’ it was published recently in the National Journal of Community Medicine.
More than 1,000 leptospirosis cases are reported from Kerala every year, with 10% of the affected persons dying of it. The cases are showing an upward trend since 2015. Compared with an average 1,400 cases a year earlier, the figure rose to 2,200 in 2018 and there were more deaths too, mainly because of the devastating floods that occurred that year. Humans catch the disease when they come into contact with the urine of infected animals or a urine-polluted environment.
Period of study
The study was conducted to identify the risk factors of leptospirosis during an outbreak and to know the usefulness of doxycycline as preventive medicine to reduce the risks after flood. The period of the study was from September 1 to 30, 2019, two weeks after the floods in August. Forty patients admitted to the MCH and 47 caregivers were included in it.
Those most at risk
Farmers or those working in contaminated surface water are more prone to the disease, and wounds and injuries are factors that increase the risk. If doxycycline tablets are given immediately after the floods, it can reduce further risks and hospitalisation, the study says. “Since leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease of public health importance causing huge morbidity and mortality in Asian countries, case control studies with large sample size from multiple sites of the country may be needed to be build more evidence on the subject,” it adds.
