Social health and leptospirosis

IT IS rainy season once again, and we hear numerous reports of l eptospirosis outbreak because of flash floods almost all over. Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. In humans, it can cause a wide range of symptoms, some of which may be mistaken for other diseases. Some infected persons, however, may have no symptoms at all. Without t reatment, Leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.

Social health is defined as how a person gets along with other people, how a person of support people and institutions around them, and how well a society does at offering every citizen the equal opportunity to obtain access to the goods and services critical to being able to function as a contributing member of society.

It is imperative that social health takes note of the amount of interaction a person has with their community. An example of social health for a society is laws and regulations being applied to all citizens equally. One can benefit from social health when you have the knowledge and access to decision-making processes that involves your health.

The concept of social health is less intuitively familiar than that of physical or mental health, and yet, along with physical and mental health, it forms one of the three pillars of most definitions of health. This is partly because social health can refer both to a characteristic of a society, and of individuals. “A society is healthy when there is equal opportunity for all and access by all to the goods and services essential to full functioning as a citizen” (Russell 1973, p. 75). Indicators of the health of a society might include the existence of the rule of law, equality in the distribution of wealth, public accessibility of the decision-making process, and the level of social capital.

The s ocial health of i ndividuals refers to “that dimension of an individual’s well-being that concerns how he gets along with other people, how other people react to him, and how he interacts with social institutions and societal mores” (Russell 1973, p. 75). This definition is broad – it incorporates elements of personality and social skills, reflects social norms, and bears a close relationship to concepts such as “well-being,” “adjustment,” and “social functioning.”

As leptospirosis is a bacterial infection caused by contact with flood water, mud, or food contaminated with the urine of rats, dogs, pigs, cattle, or goats, the Department of Health (DOH) chief appealed to the public to observe personal hygiene and avoid wading in flood waters. The health chief said the public could rely on state health subsidies when seeking treatment for the disease, with PhilHealth providing an P11,000 leptospirosis package. ( Paid article)