Media Releases
Getting together to tackle leptospirosis
Wednesday 13 December 2000
Representatives of ACC, farming, veterinary and animal health interests, meat processing companies and unions, the medical profession and Occupational Safety and Health have formed the Leptospirosis Awareness Group. The group plans a campaign to lift public awareness of the infectious disease that mainly affects people living and working with animals and animal products.
OSH brought the group together for a meeting as a preliminary to releasing new Guidelines for the Control of Occupationally Acquired Leptospirosis early in the new year.
The meeting identified the need for increased research into where and how the disease is occurring, especially among farmed animals such as beef cattle, deer and sheep, and for action to bridge some reporting and funding gaps.
Leptospirosis has recently caused the deaths of at least 100 people in Fiji, and tourists have been warned against swimming in or drinking contaminated water.
New Zealand has different varieties (serovars) of leptospirosis and no deaths have been recorded. However the disease can have very severe health effects and for some people can persist as a chronic condition.
New Zealand has a high rate of leptospirosis infection compared to similar temperate countries, with the groups at most risk being meat processing workers and the farming community. Thirty years ago, rates of infection were even higher, but the incidence of the disease was dramatically reduced after a very successful awareness campaign and the development of a vaccine funded by the Women’s Division Federated Farmers (now known as Rural Women New Zealand).
The Leptospirosis Awareness Group was told that cases of leptospirosis seem to be increasing this year, especially in some districts. But because of problems with the current surveillance systems it is difficult to know what is really happening, so the top priority is to gather more information of the incidence of the disease both in humans and in animals. It is clear that there has been a change in the types and sources of infection and an increase in some groups such as meat workers who process sheep.
As part of the public awareness campaign next year, the new Guidelines will be used as the basis for a range of information products such as fact sheets. The information will be targeted at high-risk groups and other sectors such as doctors whose knowledge of the disease varies around the country, although it is usually better in rural areas.
"People who came to the meeting have a lot of new information, and they are very keen to keep the momentum going for public awareness of leptospirosis," says researcher Janet Tyson, who has edited the guidelines and is co-ordinating information for the public awareness campaign. She has set up an email newsletter to keep interested parties informed of progress. Anyone who is interested in being added to the circulation should contact her.
