• THERESA MAE DULMAN
Bacolod City recorded its first leptospirosis fatality of 2026, after a 45-year-old vegetable vendor from Purok Mahogany, Barangay Mandalagan, succumbed to the infection on January 5.
The victim, who frequently wades in agricultural fields to harvest ‘takway,’ died on the same day he was admitted to the hospital.
He was diagnosed with severe leptospirosis and uremic encephalopathy, a condition where the brain is affected by kidney failure caused by the infection.
The Bacolod City Health Office (CHO) said the patient’s illness began 11 days prior to his death with a fever and muscle pain, symptoms he chose to manage without a medical consultation.
A week before his passing, he developed jaundice and abdominal discomfort, yet he continued to tolerate the condition at home.
It was only when he began experiencing difficulty breathing and vomiting coffee-colored fluid that he was rushed to the emergency room.
CHO Assistant Head Dr. Grace Tan said that the victim acquired the infection around December 2025.
It is one out of the two recorded cases of Leptospirosis in Bacolod City, with Barangay Banago having the other, as of January 31.*
