{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T16:53:56Z","timestamp":1791219236115,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":5,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,24]],"date-time":"2025-09-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758672000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Leptospirosis remains a pressing yet under-recognized public health burden in the Philippines with an alarming 43.45% rise in cases in early 2025. Outbreaks closely follow flooding, disproportionately affecting impoverished communities in informal, flood-prone settlements where poor sanitation, unsafe housing, and limited healthcare access compound vulnerability. Current responses remain largely hospital-based and reactive, straining resources during seasonal surges while leaving structural drivers unaddressed. This article calls for a shift to multisectoral, preventive strategies that reduce socioeconomic vulnerabilities through stronger intersectoral collaboration, investments in flood control and basic services, and enhanced digital surveillance. Without systemic reforms that integrate health, environment, and social policy, leptospirosis will continue to impose a recurring and inequitable burden on marginalized populations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens14100963","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,24]],"date-time":"2025-09-24T09:43:12Z","timestamp":1758706992000},"page":"963","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Leptospirosis in the Philippines: Confronting the Structural Roots of a Recurring Threat"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3082-3468","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jasmine Soco","family":"Interior","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Mapua School of Medicine, Mapua University, Makati City 1002, Metro Manila, Philippines"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kyrsten Jannae Jimenez","family":"Bigay-Iringan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"St. Luke\u2019s Medical Center College of Medicine\u2014William H. Quasha Memorial, Quezon City 1112, Metro Manila, Philippines"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ria Nicole Dulaycan","family":"Bondad-Delson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"St. Luke\u2019s Medical Center College of Medicine\u2014William H. Quasha Memorial, Quezon City 1112, Metro Manila, Philippines"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Remigo Angelo Argayoso","family":"Iringan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"St. Luke\u2019s Medical Center College of Medicine\u2014William H. Quasha Memorial, Quezon City 1112, Metro Manila, Philippines"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiara Mei Sandoval","family":"Calderon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"St. Luke\u2019s Medical Center College of Medicine\u2014William H. Quasha Memorial, Quezon City 1112, Metro Manila, Philippines"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna Gabriele Perez","family":"Castro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"St. Luke\u2019s Medical Center College of Medicine\u2014William H. Quasha Memorial, Quezon City 1112, Metro Manila, Philippines"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Department of Health (2025, August 10). DOH Logs 1114 Leptospirosis Cases Since Onset of Rainy Season, Available online: https:\/\/www.pna.gov.ph\/articles\/1255851."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Department of Health (2025, August 10). Leptospirosis Cases up by 17%: DOH, Available online: https:\/\/www.pna.gov.ph\/articles\/1231051."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Pineda, J. (2025, August 10). PhilHealth Covers Dengue, Leptospirosis Treatment Amid Flooding, Available online: https:\/\/pia.gov.ph\/philhealth-covers-dengue-leptospirosis-treatment-amid-flooding\/."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ranieri, T.M., da Silva, E.V., Vallandro, M.J., de Oliveira, M.M., Barcellos, R.B., Lenhardt, R.V., Timm, L.N., Campos, A.S., Simoni, C., and Abbad, P.R.d.S. (2025). Leptospirosis cases during the 2024 catastrophic flood in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Pathogens, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens14040393"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lau, C.L., Watson, C.H., Lowry, J.H., David, M.C., Craig, S.B., Wynwood, S.J., Kama, M., Nilles, E.J., and Picardeau, M. (2016). Human leptospirosis infection in Fiji: An eco-epidemiological approach to identifying risk factors and environmental drivers for transmission. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., 10.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0004405"}],"container-title":["Pathogens"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-0817\/14\/10\/963\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T18:48:41Z","timestamp":1760035721000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-0817\/14\/10\/963"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,24]]},"references-count":5,"journal-issue":{"issue":"10","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10]]}},"alternative-id":["pathogens14100963"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/pathogens14100963","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-0817"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-0817","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,24]]}}}