Leptospirosis: An important zoonosis acquired through work, play and travel

Lau, Colleen L.; Townell, Nicola; Stephenson, Eloise; Berg, Debra van den; Craig, Scott B.

doi:10.31128/afp-07-17-4286

Cited by 36 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Outdoor activities such as freshwater swimming, canoeing, kayaking and triathlons lead to potential exposure to pathogenic Leptospira spp. through contaminated water [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Due to close contact with soil, natural water sources and farm animals, workers on dairy farms and slaughterhouses, harvesters and veterinarians are also at a higher risk of exposure [ 24 , 32 , 33 , 34 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Season, Population and Individual Characteristics on the Prevalence of Leptospira spp. in Bank Voles in North-West Germany

Schmidt

Obiegala

Imholt

et al. 2021

Biology

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Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease with more than 1 million human cases annually. Infections are associated with direct contact to infected animals or indirect contact to contaminated water or soil. As not much is known about the prevalence and host specificity of Leptospira spp. in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus), our study aimed to evaluate Leptospira spp. prevalence and genomospecies distribution as well as the influence of season, host abundance and individual characteristics on the Leptospira prevalence. Bank voles, which are abundant and widely distributed in forest habitats, were collected in the years 2018 to 2020 in North-West Germany, covering parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. The DNA of 1817 kidney samples was analyzed by real-time PCR targeting the lipl32 gene. Positive samples were further analyzed by targeting the secY gene to determine Leptospira genomospecies and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to determine the sequence type (ST). The overall prevalence was 7.5% (95% confidence interval: 6.4–8.9). Leptospira interrogans (83.3%), L. kirschneri (11.5%) and L. borgpetersenii (5.2%) were detected in bank voles. Increasing body weight as a proxy for age increased the individual infection probability. Only in years with high bank vole abundance was this probability significantly higher in males than in females. Even if case numbers of human leptospirosis in Germany are low, our study shows that pathogenic Leptospira spp. are present and thus a persisting potential source for human infection.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Season, Population and Individual Characteristics on the Prevalence of Leptospira spp. in Bank Voles in North-West Germany

Schmidt

Obiegala

Imholt

et al. 2021

Biology

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“…Disease in humans occurs through direct contact with infected animals or after exposure to water or soils contaminated by the urine of infected animals. Weil's disease refers to the icteric phase which may be complicated by life‐threatening conditions including renal failure, hemorrhagic diathesis, and acute respiratory distress syndrome …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leptospirosis‐induced purpura: An atypical manifestation of Weil's disease

Higny

Forêt

Laterre

2020

Clinical Case Reports

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“…Other factors such as poverty, urbanisation, and rapid population growth may have an impact on the high prevalence of Leptospira infections in wildlife, domestic animals, and humans [65]. These situations increase reservoir populations and compromise basic health care services, sanitation, waste management, whilst exposing humans to Leptospira.…”

Section: Epidemiology Of Leptospiramentioning

confidence: 99%

Leptospirosis and Coinfection: Should We Be Concerned?

Md-Lasim

Mohd-Taib

Halim

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Pathogenic Leptospira is the causative agent of leptospirosis, an emerging zoonotic disease affecting animals and humans worldwide. The risk of host infection following interaction with environmental sources depends on the ability of Leptospira to persist, survive, and infect the new host to continue the transmission chain. Leptospira may coexist with other pathogens, thus providing a suitable condition for the development of other pathogens, resulting in multi-pathogen infection in humans. Therefore, it is important to better understand the dynamics of transmission by these pathogens. We conducted Boolean searches of several databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, SciELO, and ScienceDirect, to identify relevant published data on Leptospira and coinfection with other pathogenic bacteria. We review the role of the host-microbiota in determining the synanthropic interaction of Leptospira sp. with other bacteria, thus creating a suitable condition for the leptospira to survive and persist successfully. We also discuss the biotic and abiotic factors that amplify the viability of Leptospira in the environment. The coinfection of leptospira with pathogenic bacteria has rarely been reported, potentially contributing to a lack of awareness. Therefore, the occurrence of leptospirosis coinfection may complicate diagnosis, long-lasting examination, and mistreatment that could lead to mortality. Identifying the presence of leptospirosis with other bacteria through metagenomic analysis could reveal possible coinfection. In conclusion, the occurrence of leptospirosis with other diseases should be of concern and may depend on the success of the transmission and severity of individual infections. Medical practitioners may misdiagnose the presence of multiple infections and should be made aware of and receive adequate training on appropriate treatment for leptospirosis patients. Physicians could undertake a more targeted approach for leptospirosis diagnosis by considering other symptoms caused by the coinfected bacteria; thus, more specific treatment could be given.

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Leptospirosis: An important zoonosis acquired through work, play and travel

Cited by 36 publications

References 15 publications

Influence of Season, Population and Individual Characteristics on the Prevalence of Leptospira spp. in Bank Voles in North-West Germany

Influence of Season, Population and Individual Characteristics on the Prevalence of Leptospira spp. in Bank Voles in North-West Germany

Leptospirosis‐induced purpura: An atypical manifestation of Weil's disease

Leptospirosis and Coinfection: Should We Be Concerned?

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