The children of a 57-year-old construction worker in Cordova, Cebu have appealed for financial assistance after their father was diagnosed with severe leptospirosis.

The patient is at the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital in Cebu City, as of posting time.

Dominador Apa-ap is a resident of Poblacion, Cordova.

According to his eldest son, John Martin, it is possible that their father may have come in contact with the bacteria through infected water in potholes, or muddy puddles, that he had stepped on outside of their house, or while at work as a construction worker.

While Cordova did not experience massive flooding, the amount of rainfall that Typhoon Tino dumped sent some areas flooded momentarily.

John Martin said that a week after Typhoon Tino, their father was with fever. However, they thought the fever would go away through intake of paracetamol.

When the fever persisted, they decided to take Apa-ap to a hospital in Lapu-Lapu City.

After a day, the patient was discharged. He was diagnosed initially to have suffered from pneumonia. But while at a hospital in Cebu City, he was diagnosed to be suffering from severe leptospirosis.

According to Dr. Thirdy Louise Kong, municipal health officer, based on their records, Apa-ap did not seek consultation at the Cordova Primary Health Care Facility. They only learned of his case in a post of his son appealing for financial help for his father.

Aside from Apa-ap, no other resident in Cordova was diagnosed with leptospirosis. Bu Kong said that after Typhoon Tino, they issued advisories immediately to residents on leptospirosis, prevention and medication.

Among the symptoms are fever, body malaise, headache, stomachache, skin discoloration, redness of the eyes, vomiting, and diarrhea.