2010-10-20 11:02:24
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/health/2010-10/20/c_13566476.htm

MANAGUA, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Some 43 new leptospirosis cases have been registered in Nicaragua recently, increasing the number from 146 to 189 reported cases and 16 deaths, Health Minister Sonia Castro said Tuesday.

Castro said that the disease has spread to eight departments in the country, and most of the cases are in Leon, 93 km northwest from Managua.

Until now 130,000 doses of medicine have been given to avoid the spread of the disease, the health minister said.

Managua province's Health Director Maritza Cuan said Tuesday that leptospirosis has also been detected in two municipalities in the north of the province.

She said the government has expanded its sanitary cordon to stop the spread of the disease by vaccinating 6,000 people, who are staying in temporary shelters after losing their homes due to the seasonal rains.

Leptospirosis is a disease mainly transmitted through water polluted by the urine of animals carrying this bacterium. Its symptoms include fever and muscle pain.