Leptospirosis

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Context

• Leptospirosis has emerged as an important infectious disease in the world today.

About

• Leptospirosis is a blood infection caused by the bacteria Leptospira.

Infection

• It can infect humans, dogs, rodents and many other wild and domesticated animals.

Signs and symptoms

• Signs and symptoms can range from none to mild (headaches, muscle pains, and fevers) to severe (bleeding in the lungs or meningitis).

Acute Form

• Weil's disease, the acute, severe form of leptospirosis, causes the infected individual to become jaundiced (skin and eyes become yellow), develop kidney failure, and bleed.
• Bleeding from the lungs associated with leptospirosis is known as severe pulmonary haemorrhage syndrome.

Transmission

• Both wild and domestic animals can spread the disease, most commonly rodents.
• The bacteria are spread to humans through animal urine, or water or soil contaminated with animal urine, coming into contact with the eyes, mouth, nose or breaks in the skin.

Treatment

• Treatment, when infected, is with antibiotics such as doxycycline, penicillin, or ceftriaxone.
• The lepto vaccination provides protection against leptospirosis.

In a nutshell,