Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis (also known as Weil's disease, canicola fever, canefield fever, nanukayami fever or seven day fever) is a bacterial disease.

This disease is caused by spirochaetes of the genus Leptospira. It affects humans and many animals, including mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles.

Leptospirosis was first described by Adolf Weil in 1886. At the time he reported an "acute infectious disease with enlargement of spleen, jaundice and nephritis". The pathogen, Leptospira-genus bacteria was isolated in 1907 from a post mortem kidney slice.

Leptospirosis is a relatively rare bacterial infection in humans. The infection is commonly transmitted to humans when fresh water that has been contaminated by animal urine (often from rats) contacts the skin, eyes or the mucous membranes.

Leptospirosis usually causes heart failure, kidney failure or liver failure, and most sufferers die if they are not treated urgently. However, the disease is quite rare.

Outside of tropical areas, leptospirosis seems to occur most often in the Northern Hemisphere in August and September.

Leptospirosis Media

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Schematic depiction of the symptoms and signs of leptospirosis
Conjunctival suffusion (red conjunctiva) together with jaundice is a specific feature of leptospirosis.
Scanning electron micrograph of a number of Leptospira sp. bacteria atop a 0.1 μm polycarbonate filter
Working in a paddy field barefoot is a risk factor for leptospirosis.
Ways of Leptospira bacteria infecting human cells and blood stream
Kidney tissue, using a silver staining technique, revealing the presence of Leptospira bacteria
Diffuse lungs bleeding due to leptospirosis infection
A notice board by a lakeside in Sarawak, Malaysia, that warns against swimming in the lake as it has tested positive for pathogenic Leptospira
Blood samples being taken from a group of residents in Boyolali Regency, Indonesia, for leptospirosis screening tests
Global burden of leptospirosis calculated as disability-adjusted life year (DALY) lost per 100,000 people per year