Does anyone know of any instances of children or teenagers contracting leptospirosis from caving, either in this country or abroad?

I know a mother of a potential caver who is worried about this issue.

graham said:

Does anyone know of any instances of children or teenagers contracting leptospirosis from caving, either in this country or abroad?

I know a mother of a potential caver who is worried about this issue.

Click to expand...

Google is great...

http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:_mvT5T6M1KkJ:www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/zoonoses/zoonoses_reports/zoonoses_2000.pdf+incidents+of+leptospirosis+in+the+united+kingdom&hl=en&client=firefox-a


Use find tool to search out

I'd say your fairly safe...

A Brit backpacker died of Leptospirosis which he might have caught in a cave in NW Thailand. Can't remember if he was a teenager, but it made the newspapers in 2000. He was from Bristol.

http://www.caveinfo.org.uk/nca/weils.htm

http://www.bcu.org.uk/access/waterquality.html

A well known Peak District caver (and DCRO member) suffered a Leptospira infection after washing off in that resurgence in Middleton Dale a few years ago. That NCA leaflet on the disease is pretty helpful. Also there was a very good article on Leptospirosis (by Charlie Self if I remember rightly) several years ago in BCRA Cave Science.

I was unaware of this so had to do some digging, (not in a cave). I found the following and hope it helps a bit check out the site for more info.


Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira.
Outbreaks of leptospirosis are usually caused by exposure to water contaminated with the urine of infected animals. Many different kinds of animals carry the bacterium.
Leptospirosis occurs worldwide but is most common in temperate or tropical climates.
Leptospirosis is treated with antibiotics, such as doxycycline or penicillin.

www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/leptospirosis for more info

You can catch it in local rivers and ponds and such as well its not a cave exclusive disease, so unless cotton wool is applied on all iffy outings I would have thought he would have been ok

There are stories of people getting it from drinking out of cans if they have been stored in places where rats can get into....

Canoeing around Bristol docks would seem unwise.

Is there a date anywhere for the last recorded case on Mendip (or elsewhere in UK) for a caver proveably contracting Weil's Disease?

Oliver Lloyd ( "OCL" ) caught Weil's Disease, and survived it, possibly at Stoke Lane Slocker. ? Early 1960's ?

Righto, that's one case in the last forty years then.
... any more?

Didn't some of the people who pushed priddy green contract it... Im not sure on a time for that though...

Didn't some of the people who pushed priddy green contract it... Im not sure on a time for that though...

Click to expand...

If thats the case its roughly in the last 10 years? (ish.. :? )

They did a blood test survey at a BCRA conference many years ago and most of the samples showed the 'usual' UK varieties of Leptospirosis. The people that knew they had been infected had the nasty foreign types. OK, it's not very good to extract statistics from this as the conference is, by nature, full of the 'hard-core' types who are most likely to expose themselves the most to the chance of infection.

Most of us would put our first dose down to the flu, or really dodgy beer! I assume that we are topped up on a regular basis.

Places like Stoke Lane Slocker and anywhere else rat urine (& farm waste) enter a system is a potential hazzard. You can contract it through all the usual methods including the eyes.

Leptospirosis was so prevalent at one point that the British Canoe Union set up some kind of special, fast access diagnosis system.

Of course you have all told your doctors that you are cavers and that this is a potential hazzard?

I've not looked into the problem in years, so I'll not give too much detail, in case I mis-remember something.

I read somewhere (IIRC) the BCRA blood tests may be as a result of bovine leptospirosis which is less virulent than the rat carried leptospirosis.
When caving abroad there are probably several nastier water bourne diseases than leptospirosis that you could potentially catch.

Grahm you ought to tell the mother of your potential caver that cavers are more likely to die from falling and drowning before they have a chance of catching leptospirosis. That may put her mind at rest.

Dont be mean...

Leptospirosis in a caver returned from Sarawak, Malaysia.
http://www.zenas.gr/site/home/eng_detail.asp?iData=2985

Worldwide Caving News
http://www.zenas.gr/WCN