Symptoms can be similar to those of meningitis. Severe cases can also cause the failure of kidneys or liver. Death can occur due to heart, liver or respiratory failure.
But symptoms can develop anywhere from 2 to 30 days after infection, with an average of 10 days after initial exposure.
Leptospirosis can start with symptoms such as a high temperature, headache, feeling nauseous and vomiting, aching muscles and joints, red eyes and loss of appetite.
Most people recover within a week without treatment, but around 10 percent go on to develop severe leptospirosis.
Antibiotics are the main treatment. The antibiotics most frequently used are a penicillin antibiotic (amoxicillin or ampicillin) or doxycycline. Antibiotics are usually prescribed as soon as possible after leptospirosis is diagnosed.
The Weil's disease form of leptospirosis is contracted from the urine of infected rats. The bacteria get into your body through cuts and scratches or through the lining of the mouth, throat and eyes after contact with infected urine or contaminated water.
Illness usually begins abruptly with fever and other symptoms. Leptospirosis may occur in two phases: After the first phase (with fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, vomiting, or diarrhea) the patient may recover for a time but become ill again.
This occurs early in the course of the illness. Occasionally patients develop a transient petechial rash (small red, purple, or brown spots) that can involve the palate. If present, the rash often lasts less than 24 hours. Later in severe disease, jaundice and extensive purpura can develop.
Without treatment, Leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.
Leptospirosis, or Weil's disease, is an infection you can catch from infected animals – most commonly rats, mice, cows, pigs and dogs. This test looks for the presence of Leptospirosis IgM antibodies in your blood.
It rarely lasts more than a week. But about 10% of the time, when you have a severe form of leptospirosis, you'll get better, but then get sick again. This is called Weil's disease and it can cause much more serious issues, like chest pain and swollen arms and legs.
If you are cleaning surfaces that may be contaminated or have urine from an infected pet on them, use an antibacterial cleaning solution or a solution of 1 part household bleach in 10 parts water. Make sure that your infected pet takes all of its medicine and follow up with your veterinarian.
About 10 percent of people with leptospirosis develop severe disease, including kidney failure and/or liver damage, meningitis, difficulty breathing, and bleeding. Case fatality rate is 5 to 15% in cases with severe clinical illness.
The following diseases should be considered in the differential diagnosis of leptospirosis: influenza, dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever, hanta virus infection, yellow fever and other viral hemorrhagic fevers, rickettsiosis, borreliosis, brucellosis, malaria, pyelonephritis, aseptic meningitis, chemical poisoning, ...
Leptospirosis typically presents as a nonspecific, acute febrile illness characterized by fever, myalgia, and headache and may be confused with other entities such as influenza and dengue fever.
Outbreaks of leptospirosis are usually caused by exposure to contaminated water, such as floodwaters. Person to person transmission is rare.
If left untreated, Leptospirosis can cause kidney failure, liver failure, meningitis, respiratory distress, and death. The time between exposure to the bacteria and development of disease is usually 10 days, but may vary from 2 to 30 days. c. The disease is not known to spread from person to person.
Age Distribution
Reported Leptospirosis cases occur most often in the 25 to 44-year-old age group while hospitalized cases were more consistent across age groups (Figure 2).
Leptospirosis is treatable with antibiotics. If an animal is treated early, it may recover more rapidly and any organ damage may be less severe. Other treatment methods, such as dialysis and hydration therapy may be required.
Red, irregular blotches appear on the skin that are dark red in color, sometimes turning a purple hue. They can appear anywhere on the body but in leptospirosis are often seen on the lower legs and the palatte.
People may pass the bacteria in their urine for about 1 month, although some people may pass it for as long as 5 months. People can also get leptospirosis from other infected people, but this is rare. Leptospirosis can be treated with antibiotics and other medicine.
You can include ginger in your diet: It is one of the effective ways to treat Leptospirosis. According to a study conducted on mice, the ginger extracts decrease anti-inflammatory cytokines which can control the organ damage due to Leptospirosis. You can consume ginger by including in your soup, dal and so on.
Although leptospirosis is relatively rare in Australia, it is more common in warm and moist regions such as north-eastern NSW and Queensland. Because there are many different strains of Leptospira bacteria, it is possible for someone to be infected with another strain and develop leptospirosis again.