Bacolod records first suspected leptospirosis death in 2026

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — A 45-year-old vegetable vendor from Barangay Mandalagan was the first reported fatality from suspected leptospirosis in the city last month.

The City Health Office reported that the patient had waded through floodwater while harvesting root crops on a farm.

Eleven days before hospital admission, he developed a fever with muscle pain but did not seek medical consultation because he said he could tolerate the symptoms.

About a week before admission, he was observed to have yellowing of the skin, along with episodes of abdominal discomfort.

On Jan. 5, the day he was admitted, he began vomiting and later died the same day.

City Health Office records showed Bacolod recorded two suspected leptospirosis cases from Jan. 4–31, with one case each in barangays Banago and Mandalagan.

That figure is 100% higher than the same period last year, when the city logged one case and no deaths.

Health authorities continued to urge residents to seek early consultation if they develop symptoms to ensure prompt diagnosis and proper care.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease typically spread through water or soil contaminated with the urine of infected animals, and risk increases after heavy rains and flooding, especially for people with open cuts or abrasions who wade in contaminated water.

Common symptoms include fever, severe muscle pain (often in the calves), headache, vomiting, and jaundice, and severe infections can lead to kidney or liver failure and, in some cases, death.