Several researchers had carried out investigations on the possibility of existence of Weil's disease in Andaman Islands during early 20 th century. The first report of a series of confirmed cases of leptospirosis that occurred during 1929 was published in 1931.There were several reports during 1995 to 2009 that described detailed account of leptospirosis including various clinical syndromes. Th...

Leptospirosis may have important complications, such as acute respiratory failure (ARF) associated or not with other organic dysfunction, with a high mortality rate. We report the characteristics and evolution of severe leptospirosis associated with ARF. During 10 years, 35 consecutive adult patients admitted in two general Intensive Care Units with severe leptospirosis and ARF, were followed u...

Leptospirosis disproportionately affects residents of urban slums. To understand the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding leptospirosis, we conducted a cross-sectional study among residents of an urban slum community in Salvador, Brazil. Of the 257 residents who were interviewed, 225 (90%) were aware of leptospirosis and more than two-thirds of respondents correctly identified the mode...

In Colombia, undifferentiated tropical febrile illness (UTFI) are frequent and of considerable concern. They also share many clinical features. Between 2012 and 2013 in an endemic tropical area of Cordoba, Colombia, we conducted a prospective study to establish an etiological diagnosis of UTFI. Using diagnostic tests for dengue, leptospirosis, hantavirus, malaria, rickettsia, brucellosis, hepat...

Leptospirosis is an emerging worldwide zoonosis caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp. Our understanding of leptospirosis pathogenesis and host immune response remains limited, while mechanistic studies are hindered by a lack of proper animal models and immunological reagents. Here we established a murine model of acute and self-resolving leptospirosis by infecting 10-week-old C57BL/6 mice with L...

There is an urgent need for development of new serodiagnostic strategies for leptospirosis, an emerging zoonosis with worldwide distribution. We have evaluated the diagnostic utility of five recombinant antigens in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for serodiagnosis of leptospirosis. Sera from 50 healthy residents of a high-incidence region were used to determine cutoff values for 96%...

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by Leptospira genus bacteria. Rodents, especially Rattus norvegicus, are the most frequent hosts of this microorganism in the cities. The human transmission occurs by contact with urine, blood or tissues of the rodent and contacting water or mud contaminated by rodent urine. Spatial patterns of concentration of leptospirosis are related to the multiple environ...

Leptospirosis displays a great diversity of routes of exposure, reservoirs, etiologic agents, and clinical symptoms. It occurs almost worldwide but its pattern of transmission varies depending where it happens. Climate change may increase the number of cases, especially in developing countries, like Brazil. Spatial analysis studies of leptospirosis have highlighted the importance of socioeconom...

This paper reviews the literature on human leptospirosis in Malaysia from its first description in 1925 until the present day. Fletcher diagnosed the first case of human leptospirosis in Malaysia in 1925. Following Fletcher, many investigations on human leptospirosis in Malaysia disclosed a high prevalence of infection. These investigations indicated that the disease was endemic in the country....

Leptospirosis is a bacterial zoonosis in which dogs can act as a reservoir for human infection. The annual vaccination of dogs can prevent leptospirosis caused by serovars included in the vaccine. To date, all available vaccines in Germany include only the serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae and Canicola, the most commonly found serovars prior to the introduction of the leptospirosis vaccines. Yet, th...