Worldwide, the annual incidence of leptospirosis is around one million cases and death is around 60,000. Transmission occurs by direct contact with the urine of infected animal or ingestion of urine-contaminated water/food. Leptospira infection results in a wide spectrum of clinical signs ranging from subclinical infection to a severe syndrome of multiorgan dysfunction with a high mortality. However, the disease is grossly underreported in India as diagnosis is often challenging due to its protean clinical manifestations in tropical countries and the lack of simple diagnostic measures for early detection and control of the infection. Further, the clinical features resemble other common diseases like rickettsial infection, dengue and malaria, typhoid and viral hepatitis in tropical countries. The Indian Leptospirosis Society (ILS) also voiced concern on reliable figures on morbidity and mortality due to this occupational disease. Hence, a retrospective study was carried out to assess the prevalence of leptospirosis and the associated risk factors in the epidemiology of the disease.
Author(s) Details:
Saravanan
Department of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal – 637 002, India.
Selvaraju
Department of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal – 637 002, India.
Recent Global Research Developments in Understanding the Symptoms of Leptospirosis: The Impact of Bacteria
A Global One Health Perspective on Leptospirosis: This article discusses the zoonotic nature of leptospirosis, emphasizing the need for a transdisciplinary approach to understand the interactions between pathogenic spirochetes, incidental hosts, the environment, and vertebrate reservoir hosts. It highlights the importance of diagnostic tests, molecular epidemiologic tools, and preventive measures [1] .
Global Morbidity and Mortality of Leptospirosis: A Systematic Review: This systematic review provides global estimates of leptospirosis morbidity and mortality, identifying regions with the highest burden. It emphasizes the disease’s impact on vulnerable populations and the need for better data to inform local decision-making and policy [2] .
Current Treatment Options for Leptospirosis: A Mini-Review: This mini-review explores effective treatment strategies for leptospirosis, focusing on antibiotic therapy for mild and severe cases. It also discusses the role of probiotics in modulating the gut microbiota [3] .
Leptospirosis: Pathogenesis, Clinical and Immunological Aspects: This compilation of research and review articles provides updates on bacterial pathogenesis, immune responses, and vaccine development against leptospirosis. It includes new vaccine candidates and adjuvant formulations [4] .
Leptospirosis in Humans and Animals: A One Health Approach: This article emphasizes the importance of a One Health approach to leptospirosis, considering the disease’s impact on both humans and animals. It discusses the role of environmental factors and human-animal interactions in the transmission of leptospirosis[1] .
References
- Mills, W. (2022). A Global One Health Perspective on Leptospirosis in Humans and Animals.
- Costa F, Hagan JE, Calcagno J, Kane M, Torgerson P, Martinez-Silveira MS, et al. (2015) Global Morbidity and Mortality of Leptospirosis: A Systematic Review. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 9(9): e0003898. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003898
- Petakh P, Behzadi P, Oksenych V and Kamyshnyi O (2024) Current treatment options for leptospirosis: a mini-review. Front. Microbiol. 15:1403765. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1403765
- Barbosa AS, Patarakul K and Isaac L (2023) Editorial: Leptospirosis: pathogenesis, clinical and epidemiological aspects. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 13:1210178. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1210178
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