Manila jail inmate rushed to hospital for leptospirosis

MANILA, Philippines – A Manila City Jail inmate was rushed to the hospital after being infected with leptospirosis, following monsoon rains that flooded the facility last week, a city jail official said Monday.

Jail Inspector Cesar Onggoco said inmate Glen Gustiniel, 25, was rushed to the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center in Manila Sunday night after contracting the bacterial infection, commonly caused by exposure to water contaminated with animal urine or feces.

As for the rest of the 3,784 inmates, some suffered from fever, cough and colds, and diarrhea, Onggoco said, after thigh-high floodwaters entered the jail during the onslaught of the southwest monsoon since early last week.