Leptospirosis

About Leptospirosis:

• Leptospirosis, also known as “rat fever”, is a rare bacterial infection that affects people and animals.
• The disease is caused by a bacterium called Leptospira interrogans, or Leptospira.
• It is most common in tropical areas and warmer climates with lots of rainfall each year.
• Transmission:
  • The carriers of the disease can be either wild or domestic animals, including rodents, cattle, pigs, and dogs.
  • Infected animals spread the bacteria through their urine (pee). They may continue to urinate the bacteria into the environment for several months or years.
  • The bacteria can survive in contaminated water or soil for weeks to months. 
  • It is not spread from person to person, except in very rare cases.
• Symptoms: It generally takes 2-30 days to get sick after having contact with the bacteria. Leptospirosis may occur in two phases.
  • In the first phase, people may have fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, vomiting, or diarrhea. The person may feel better for a while but become ill again.
  • Some people may suffer a more severe second phase with kidney or liver failure, or inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis).

Treatment: It can be treated with antibiotics, including penicillin and doxycycline.

Q1: What are antibiotics?

Antibiotics are medicines that fight bacterial infections in people and animals. They work by killing the bacteria or by making it hard for the bacteria to grow and multiply.

Source: As Nipah threat subsides, Kerala faces a new health challenge: A deadly Leptospirosis outbreak