Heart Evangelista's fur baby, Panda, recovers from leptospirosis

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

Heart Evangelista's fur baby, Panda, recovered from a bout of leptospirosis.

The Global Fashion Icon shared the news on her TikTok account, calling her beloved dog "my leptospirosis survivor."

"I love you Panda. Thank you Lord you are OK," she wrote in the caption.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, leptospirosis is caused by the bacterium Leptospira found in contaminated water or soil.

Leptospirosis cases typically spike when floods occur during the rainy season.

When asked by a netizen if Panda waded through flood waters, Heart said it was actually her who did so. Panda was with her inside the car, so she might have contracted the disease via the actress's pants or shoes.

In Katrina Son's report on "24 Oras Weekend," Sunday, Dr. Rey Del Napoles of the Quezon City Veterinary Department said animals are also at risk of getting seriously ill from leptospirosis, just like humans.

"Ang baboy, ang kambing, ang baka, at kalabaw kapag na-expose po sila sa baha, puwede po sila magkaroon ng leptospirosis," he said. "Lalo na po 'yung mga alaga nating aso, they're highly susceptible to it."

Animals exposed to contaminated water may contract leptospirosis via their eyes, mouth, or open wounds.

Symptoms of the disease in animals include lethargy, lack of appetite, muscle pain, and difficulty urinating.

"The manifestation po ng leptospirosis usually po nasa two weeks 'yun from the exposure," Napoles said. "Pero huwag po natin hintayin na mag-develop muna ng symptoms kasi po the symptoms of leptospirosis can be confused for other diseases until na-narrow down ng doctor."

As of August 8, 13 patients died of leptospirosis in San Lazaro Hospital.

I love you panda ???????????? thank you lord you are ok????????????????

—MGP, GMA Integrated News