Leptospirosis has Emerged Globally as a Fatal Infectious Disease : A Part from the Book Chapter : Usefulness of Dark Field Microscopy in the Epidemiological Study of Leptospirosis in Human Patients with Pyrexia

In the last few decades, leptospirosis has emerged globally as a fatal infectious disease. Yet, an understanding of the pathogenesis of leptospirosis continues to remain within the grey areas of scientific evidence. Leptospirosis, a bacterial zoonotic disease with a worldwide distribution, is caused by spirochetes of the genospecies Leptospira interrogans and the disease has gained extreme public health importance in India, because of huge livestock and rodent populations, poor sanitary conditions and close association between man and animals . Human infection mostly results from indirect contact with an environment contaminated with infected urine. The most common clinical signs of human leptospirosis include fever, headache, muscle aches and diarrhea, while some patients are asymptomatic. Severe infection, known as Weil’s disease, is related to multiple organ dysfunction. In Tamil Nadu, an average of about 3000 to 5000 cases of leptospirosis per annum is reported in different districts and the disease has been a common cause of renal illness during monsoons.

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.

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Recent Global Research Developments in Leptospirosis: A Global Emergence of a Fatal Infectious Disease

Global Morbidity and Mortality of Leptospirosis: This systematic review published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases provides comprehensive data on the global burden of leptospirosis, estimating around 1.03 million cases and 58,900 deaths annually [1].

Predictors of Severe Leptospirosis: A multicenter observational study from Central Malaysia, published in BMC Infectious Diseases, identifies clinical predictors for severe leptospirosis, such as acute kidney injury and low platelet counts [2] .

Leptospirosis: Updating the Global Picture: This article in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases updates the global burden of leptospirosis, emphasizing the limitations of surveillance systems in low-income tropical countries [3] .

New Insights in Leptospirosis: A special issue in Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease discusses recent advancements in understanding leptospirosis, including new diagnostic methods and treatment strategies [4] .

Leptospirosis in Urban Slums: Research focusing on the epidemiology of leptospirosis in urban slums highlights the disease’s impact on vulnerable populations and the need for improved public health interventions [1] .

References

1. 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
2. Philip, N., Lung Than, L.T., Shah, A.M. et al. Predictors of severe leptospirosis: a multicentre observational study from Central Malaysia. BMC Infect Dis 21, 1081 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-06766-5
3. Picardeau M (2015) Leptospirosis: Updating the Global Picture of an Emerging Neglected Disease. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 9(9): e0004039. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004039
4. New Insights in Leptospirosis
   https://www.mdpi.com/journal/tropicalmed/special_issues/Leptospirosis

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