{"id":357851,"date":"2026-04-01T02:39:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/357851\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T02:39:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:39:06","slug":"health-officials-warn-of-leptospirosis-risk-after-hawaii-floods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/357851\/","title":{"rendered":"Health officials warn of leptospirosis risk after Hawaii floods"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JAMM<\/p>\n

JAMM AQUINO \/ JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM<\/p>\n

A man walks through floodwater on Kaupe Road on March 20, in Waialua. The Hawaii Department of Health and Hawaiian Humane Society are urging residents and recovery workers to monitor for signs of leptospirosis in the aftermath of the \u201cKona low\u201d storm floods.<\/p>\n

The Hawaii Department of Health and Hawaiian Humane Society are urging residents and recovery workers to monitor for signs of leptospirosis in the aftermath of the \u201cKona low\u201d storm floods.<\/p>\n

Leptospirosis<\/a> is a potentially serious bacterial illness that can affect both people and pets. It is caused by Leptospira, which is carried in the urine of infected animals, including rats, mice, mongoose, livestock, and dogs.<\/p>\n

The bacteria enter the body through broken skin or through the mouth, nose, or eyes. People can also become exposed through direct contact with the urine, blood or tissues of an infected animal.<\/p>\n

\u201cHawaii already has among the highest rates of leptospirosis in the country due to its warm, wet climate,\u201d said HHS and DOH in a news release, \u201cand flooding events like the recent Kona low storm can dramatically increase exposure risk by spreading contaminated soil and water across a broad area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Human symptoms, which typically begin five to 14 days after exposure, include fever, headache, chills, sweating, muscle aches, jaundice (yellowed skin and eyes), vomiting, diarrhea and sometimes a rash. Onset of symptoms, however, can take anywhere from two to 30 days.<\/p>\n

In pets<\/a>, symptoms of leptospirosis can include fever, decreased appetite or lethargy, vomiting or diarrhea, increased thirst and urination, muscle soreness or reluctance to move, and the yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes, which can indicate liver or kidney failure.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAfter heavy rain and flooding, we typically see an elevated risk of leptospirosis in our community, and this storm is no exception,\u201d said Dr. Lisa Labrecque, Chief Veterinarian at the Hawaiian Humane Society. \u201cSo many families were doing everything they could just to get through this storm, and their pets were right there with them in those conditions. If your pet begins showing any signs of illness in the coming days, please reach out to your veterinarian immediately. Early treatment with antibiotics is effective, but this disease can progress quickly and become life- threatening, if left untreated.\u201d<\/p>\n

If pets show signs of illness, contact your veterinarian right away and tell them if they were exposed to floodwaters or mud. Antibiotic treatment is available, but is most effective when started early.<\/p>\n

Additionally, now is a good time to speak with your veterinarian about the leptospirosis vaccination.<\/p>\n

\u201cPets are often the first indicator that leptospirosis is circulating in a community, and after a flooding event like this one, that risk is very real,\u201d said Dr. Ariella Barry, Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Veterinary Medical Officer with the DOH Disease Investigation Branch. <\/p>\n

\u201cLeptospirosis is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can spread from animals to people, so when a companion animal becomes ill, it is not only a veterinary concern. It is a signal that the people in that household may have been exposed as well. We encourage pet guardians to take any signs of illness seriously, get their animals to a veterinarian quickly, and let their own healthcare provider know if they develop symptoms too. The sooner we catch it, the better the outcome for everyone in the family.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JAMM AQUINO \/ JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM A man walks through floodwater on Kaupe Road on March 20, in Waialua. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[134,527,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-357851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}