Two of the three young people infected in Haute-Saône by leptospirosis, a potentially fatal infectious disease dubbed "the disease of rats", were still hospitalized Saturday in a "serious" state, said the Regional Health Agency (ARS) Bourgogne-Franche -County. Their condition is however "stable", told AFP Marc Di Palma, doctor at the ARS. One of their friends was also contaminated and hospitalized but his "health condition improved rapidly," he added.
They bathed in a river
These three people were part of a group of six young people who came to bathe in the river Ognon, Pesme, Haute-Saone, in an uncontrolled bathing area, and therefore without health control. According to the Haute-Saône prefecture, these three cases are the "only (...) detected to date" in the region.
The two most severely affected young people were "hospitalized for serious symptomatology (...), with problems affecting certain organs," said Marc Di Palma. Their evolution, "stable at the moment", "requires significant surveillance and they are supported in specialized services," he added.
A disease due to bacteria present in the urine of animals
"Leptospirosis can develop in areas of wastewater discharge, where there is a proliferation of germ-carrying nutrients that contaminate the water through their urine." Those who bathe in these places can then be exposed to this disease. "explained the doctor.
"All activities of bathing and freshwater aquatic leisure presents a risk of exposure to the bacteria responsible for leptospirosis," warned Friday evening in a statement the prefecture, recalling that "swimming should be practiced in supervised areas under sanitary control ".
Leptospirosis, a predominantly summer disease, is caused by bacteria in the urine of animals, mainly rodents. After the incubation, from three to twenty days, the disease is manifested in the majority of cases by signs resembling the flu (high fever with chills, muscle and joint pain, headaches, digestive disorders). Severe forms can lead to potentially life-threatening organ damage (multi-organ failure), kidney failure and hemorrhage.