AN member with Weils disease!

[larsagi2010]

Guys,

 

A Massive thank you to all that have posted and wished me well. Im now feeling much better, although not 100%, im getting there slowly.

 

May I take this oppertunity to remind everyone again of the dangers being at the bank, if Im totally honest I was never overly carefull about how clean my hands were before I tucked into my lunch or put something in my mouth because I didnt have enough hands! I for one will be taking extra care in future!

 

Im lucky that I had this forum as we were able to mention Weils to the doctors right from the start, without this Forum I would have never known it existed. I believe more should be done to raise awareness as others may not be so lucky as myself!

 

Thanks again everyone, It hasnt put me off.. the biggest obstical I have now is convining the better half to let me go!

 

Thanks again everyone for their messages.

 

Craig

 

You are absolutely correct!

 

After years of fishing I have never heard of Weils until recently. I just 2 months ago was handling Carp with hands covered in scratches/cuts from hooks that had gone into my hand (When the Mrs kicked my bloody rod while I was hair rigging!)

 

And eating bacon rolls with my bare hands, even catching fish... Handling them, then picking my bacon back up and munching away!

 

They should release a card or something with your rod license?? Or at least make the information more clear to people.

[scottca]

You are absolutely correct!

 

After years of fishing I have never heard of Weils until recently. I just 2 months ago was handling Carp with hands covered in scratches/cuts from hooks that had gone into my hand (When the Mrs kicked my bloody rod while I was hair rigging!)

 

And eating bacon rolls with my bare hands, even catching fish... Handling them, then picking my bacon back up and munching away!

 

They should release a card or something with your rod license?? Or at least make the information more clear to people.

 

Yup.. the bacon sandwiches sound familier too! munching away, catch fish, munch away again! antibac for me now..

 

my thoughts exactly, if the EA just sent out something small with the rod license.. would help a great deal, as others have said, risk is small but real.. trust me! very scary being told that your kidneys and liver are failing, they may have to put you on dialysis, you cant lift your legs as your muscles hurt and your looking more yellow than bart simpson!

 

something I hope I never come accross again !

 

can anyone recomend a good anti bac? pref one that evaporates so it doesnt leave your hands all sticky.. I should have nicked one from hospital!

[Steve Walker]

Any alcohol based hand gel should work. I've got the Tesco own brand stuff that was dirt cheap.

[blankerno1]

 

best wishes, hope the recovery is swift and he is back down the bank soon

[arbocop]

Any alcohol based hand gel should work. I've got the Tesco own brand stuff that was dirt cheap.

 

 

This is indeed a nasty if rare problem, glad to hear you were diagnosed in time Craig, it can be very nasty indeed. One of Mathew Pincents rowing team died after contracting this recently. I am also guilty of not taking care at times, and I was trained at Sparsholt, and worked on a trout farm for a few years - I should know better.

 

Whilst on the subject, there is another health issue pending which all anglers (session anglers which fish in France in particular) should be aware of - it's a serious health problem, and probably also likely to be widespread in London soon, as it may not be possible to control it.

 

It's larvae of the oak processionary moth from Asia. The caterpillars have thousands of tiny hairs which cause a VERY nasty rash. When they hatch, the caterpillars form silken nests which are full of shed hairs, and they leave trails of hairs on the trees as they 'process' into the canopy to feed. In high concentrations, these hairs and may also cause respiratory problems if they are detached on the wind and inhaled.

 

I'll make a full report over the next couple of days, but if you are planning a trip to France betwen May and June next year - BE AWARE!

 

oak processionary moth

 

Mike

[Tigger]

I've heard you can become immune to weils disease after contact with it over years. If so I must be immune as I've going been out ferreting/dogging, shooting, trapping, poisoning rats since I was a young kid. I've dug them out of their holes with my bear hands and even flattend/punched them with my fist as they tried to run past me or sat it the entrance of a burrow(even been bitten with the barstewards).

Had a little session today ratting with the dogs and ferrets and 410's but one of my dogs accidnetly killed one of the ferrets which spoilt the day a bit !

[Steve Walker]

Studies have found that a surprisingly high proportion of people can be serum positive for the organism causing Weil's, showing that they have at some point been exposed - suggesting that many people get infected and never develop severe enough symptoms to be diagnosed. Whether that implies any strong degree of immunity to future infection, I don't know - there are multiple strains identifiable immunologically, so maybe not.

Edited November 23, 2010 by Steve Walker

[Anderoo]

Great to see you posting again Scott! Take it steady and watch A Passion for Angling on a loop until you can get back out fishing again

 

Tigger, I'd have thought Weil's was the least of your worries going out dogging

[larsagi2010]

Studies have found that a surprisingly high proportion of people can be serum positive for the organism causing Weil's, showing that they have at some point been exposed - suggesting that many people get infected and never develop severe enough symptoms to be diagnosed. Whether that implies any strong degree of immunity to future infection, I don't know - there are multiple strains identifiable immunologically, so maybe not.

 

I assume this could mean then that ''some'' people are able to become infected, but it would pass on its own naturally without medical intervention?

 

So in other words it can be more mild and less ''risky'' in some cases?

 

Obviously anyone who suspects they may have Weils would be best going straight to their G.P no matter how mild the symptoms may be.

[Steve Walker]

As I understand it, it is thought that about 10% of symptomatic leptospirosis infections go on to full blown Weil's disease, however the number of people expressing antibodies against leptospirosis can be much, much higher than ten times the number of people who develop Weil's.

 

So, it seems to me that one or more of the following are true:

 

* Mild cases of leptospirosis are massively undiagnosed and the proportion that go on to develop Weil's is actually a lot less than 10%

 

or

 

* Many people get exposed to the organism without developing clinical symptoms