Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Leptospirosis: a neglected tropical zoonotic infection of public health importance—an updated review

  • Review
  • Published:
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic and waterborne disease worldwide. It is a neglected, reemerging disease of global public health importance with respect to morbidity and mortality both in humans and animals. Due to negligence, rapid, unplanned urbanization, and poor sanitation, leptospirosis emerges as a leading cause of acute febrile illness in many of the developing countries. Every individual has a risk of getting infected as domestic and wild animals carry leptospires; the at-risk population varies from the healthcare professionals, animal caretakers, farmers and agricultural workers, fishermen, rodent catchers, water sports people, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel, people who volunteer rescue operations in flood-affected areas, sanitary workers, sewage workers, etc. The clinical manifestations of leptospirosis range from flu-like illness to acute kidney failure (AKF), pneumonia, jaundice, pulmonary hemorrhages, etc. But many rare and uncommon clinical manifestations are being reported worldwide. This review will cover all possible updates in leptospirosis from occurrence, transmission, rare clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and prophylactic measures that are currently available, their advantages and the future perspectives, elaborately. There are less or very few reviews on leptospirosis in recent years. Thus, this work will serve as background knowledge for the current understanding of leptospirosis for researchers. This will provide a detailed analysis of leptospirosis and also help in finding research gaps and areas to focus on regarding future research perspectives.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Esteves LM, Bulhões SM, Branco CC, Carreira T, Vieira ML, Gomes-Solecki M et al (2018) Diagnosis of human leptospirosis in a clinical setting: Real-time PCR high resolution melting analysis for detection of Leptospira at the onset of disease. Sci Rep 8(1):1–10

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Chatterjee P, Bhaumik S, Chauhan AS (2017) Protocol for developing a database of zoonotic disease research in India ( DoZooRI ):1–4

  3. Wasiński B, Dutkiewicz J (2013) Leptospirosis - current risk factors connected with human activity and the environment. Ann Agric Environ Med 20(2):239–244

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Trott DJ, Abraham S, Adler B (2018) Antimicrobial resistance in Leptospira, Brucella, and other rarely investigated veterinary and zoonotic pathogens. Microbiol Spectr;6(4)

  5. Thibeaux R, Iraola G, Ferrés I, Bierque E, Girault D, Soupé-Gilbert M-E, et al (2018) Deciphering the unexplored Leptospira diversity from soils uncovers genomic evolution to virulence. Microb genomics;4(1)

  6. Herman HS, Mehta S, Cárdenas WB, Stewart-Ibarra AM, Finkelstein JL (2016) Micronutrients and leptospirosis: a review of the current evidence. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 10(7):1–20

    Google Scholar 

  7. Vijayachari P, Sugunan AP, Shriram AN (2008) Leptospirosis: an emerging global publichealth problem. J Biosci 33(4):557–569

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Bandara M, Ananda M, Wickramage K, Berger E, Agampodi S(2014) Globalization of leptospirosis through travel and migration;1–9

  9. Thornley CN, Baker MG, Weinstein P, Maas EW (2002) Changing epidemiology of human leptospirosis in New Zealand. Epidemiol Infect 128(1):29–36 Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11895088. Accessed 28 Jul 2019

  10. Kamath SA, Joshi SR (2003) Re-emerging of infections in urban India - focus leptospirosis. J Assoc Physicians India 51(march):247–248

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Goarant C (2016) Leptospirosis: risk factors and management challenges in developing countries. Res Rep Trop Med;Volume 7:49–62

    Google Scholar 

  12. Taylor AJ, Paris DH, Newton PN (2015) A Systematic Review of the Mortality from Untreated Leptospirosis;1–19

  13. Loomba V, Mani A (1980) Leptospirosis. Updateontropicalfever:136–143

  14. Trivedi TH, Kamath SA (2010) Leptospirosis : Tropical to Subtropical India. J Assoc Physicians India 58(june):351–352

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Stimson AM (1896-1970) (1907) note on an organism found in yellow-fever tissue. Public Health Rep 22(18):1–4

    Google Scholar 

  16. Kim MJ (2019) Historical Review of Leptospirosis in the Korea (1945–2015). Infect Chemother 51(3):315–329

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Levett PN (2001) Leptospirosis. Clin Microbiol Rev 14(2):296–326

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Adler B, de la Peña MA (2009) Leptospira and leptospirosis. Vet Microbiol 140(3-4):287–296

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Dunay S, Bass J, Stremick J (2016) Leptospirosis: a Global Health burden in review. Emerg med open access;6(5)

  20. 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):0–1

    Google Scholar 

  21. Desai S, Van Treeck U, Lierz M, Espelage W, Zota L, Sarbu A et al (2009) Resurgence of field fever in a temperate country : an epidemic of leptospirosis among seasonal strawberry harvesters in Germany in 2007. Clin Infect Dis 48(6):691–697. https://doi.org/10.1086/597036

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Holla R, Darshan B, Pandey L, Unnikrishnan B, Kumar N, Thapar R et al (2018) Leptospirosis in coastal South India: a facility based study. Biomed Res Int 2018:1–5

    Google Scholar 

  23. John TJ (1996) Emerging & re-emerging bacterial pathogens in India. Indian J Med Res 103:4–18

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Goarant C, Picardeau M, Morand S, McIntyre KM (2019) Leptospirosis under the bibliometrics radar: evidence for a vicious circle of neglect. J Glob Health 9(1):010302. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.09.010302

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Torgerson PR, Hagan JE, Costa F, Calcagno J, Kane M, Martinez-Silveira MS et al (2015) Global burden of leptospirosis: estimated in terms of disability adjusted life years. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 9(10):1–14

    Google Scholar 

  26. Slamti L, de Pedro MA, Guichet E, Picardeau M (2011) Deciphering morphological determinants of the helix-shaped Leptospira. J Bacteriol 193(22):6266–6275

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Trueba G, Zapata S, Madrid K, Cullen P, Haake D (2004) Cell aggregation: a mechanism of pathogenic Leptospira to survive in fresh water. Int Microbiol 7(1):35–40

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Chiriboga J, Barragan V, Arroyo G, Sosa A, Birdsell DN, España K et al (2015) High prevalence of intermediate Leptospira spp. DNA in febrile humans from urban and rural Ecuador. Emerg Infect Dis 21(12):2141–2147

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. De Brito T, Silva AMGD, Abreu PAE (2018) Pathology and pathogenesis of human leptospirosis: a commented review. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo 60:e23 (April):1–10

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Escandón-Vargas K, Bustamante-Rengifo JA, Astudillo-Hernández M (2019) Detection of pathogenic Leptospira in ornamental water fountains from urban sites in Cali, Colombia. Int J Environ Health Res 29(1):107–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2018.1519526

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Bharti AR, Nally JE, Ricaldi JN, Matthias MA, Diaz MM, Lovett MA et al (2003) Leptospirosis: a zoonotic disease of global importance. Lancet Infect Dis 3(12):757–771 Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14652202. Accessed 4 Apr 2019

  32. Witchell TD, Eshghi A, Nally JE, Hof R, Boulanger MJ, Wunder EA, et al (2014) Post-translational modification of LipL32 during Leptospira interrogans infection. PLoS Negl Trop Dis;8(10)

  33. Rawlins J, Portanova A, Zuckerman I, Loftis A, Ceccato P, Willingham AL et al (2014) Molecular detection of leptospiral DNA in environmental water on St. Kitts. Int J Environ Res Public Health 11(8):7953–7960

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Shekatkar SB, Harish BN, Menezes GA, Parija SC (2010) Clinical and serological evaluation of leptospirosis in Puducherry, India. J Infect Dev Ctries 4(3):139–143

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Casanovas-Massana A, Pedra GG, Wunder EA Jr, Diggle PJ, Begon M, Ko AI (2018) Quantification of Leptospira interrogans survival in soil and water microcosms. Appl Environ Microbiol:84(13)

  36. Schneider AG, Casanovas-Massana A, Hacker KP, Wunder EA Jr, Begon M, Reis MG et al (2018) Quantification of pathogenic Leptospira in the soils of a Brazilian urban slum. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 12(4):e0006415. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006415

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  37. Sharma K, Kalawat U (2009) Early diagnosis of leptospirosis by conventional methods: one-year prospective study. Indian J Pathol Microbiol 51(2):209

    Google Scholar 

  38. Musso D, La Scola B (2013) Laboratory diagnosis of leptospirosis: a challenge. J Microbiol Immunol Infect 46(4):245–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmii.2013.03.001

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Desai K, Patel F, Patel P, Nayak S, Patel N, Bansal R (2016) A case–control study of epidemiological factors associated with leptospirosis in South Gujarat region. J Postgrad Med 62(4):223 Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27763478. Accessed 4 Apr 2019

  40. Pissawong T, Maneewatchararangsri S, Ritthisunthorn N, Soonthornworasiri N, Reamtong O, Adisakwattana P et al (2018) Immunodominance of LipL3293-272 peptides revealed by leptospirosis sera and therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. J Microbiol Immunol Infect:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmii.2017.12.006

  41. de Sainte MB, Delord M, Dubourg G, Gautret P, Parola P, Brouqui P et al (2015) Leptospirosis presenting as honeymoon fever. Int J Infect Dis 34:102–104 Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S120197121500079X?via%3Dihub. Accessed 5 Apr 2019

  42. Londeree WA (2014) Leptospirosis: the microscopic danger in paradise. Hawaii J Med Public Health 73(11 Suppl 2):21–23

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  43. Costa F, Ribeiro GS, Felzemburgh RDM, Santos N, Reis RB, Santos AC et al (2014) Influence of household rat infestation on leptospira transmission in the urban slum environment. Small PLC, editor. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 8(12):e3338. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003338

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  44. Hagan JE, Moraga P, Costa F, Capian N, Ribeiro GS, Wunder EA et al (2016) Spatiotemporal determinants of urban leptospirosis transmission: four-year prospective cohort study of slum residents in Brazil. Soares Magalhaes RJ, editor. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 10(1):e0004275. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004275

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  45. Santos NDJ, Sousa E, Reis MG, Ko AI, Costa F (2017) Rat infestation associated with environmental deficiencies in an urban slum community with high risk of leptospirosis transmission. Cad Saude Publica 33(2):e00132115. https://doi.org/10.1590/01021-311X00132115

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Adler B, Lo M, Seemann T, Murray GL (2011) Pathogenesis of leptospirosis : the influence of genomics. Vet Microbiol 153(1–2):73–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2011.02.055

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Picardeau M, Bulach DM, Bouchier C, Zuerner RL, Zidane N, Wilson PJ et al (2008) Genome sequence of the saprophyte Leptospira biflexa provides insights into the evolution of Leptospira and the pathogenesis of leptospirosis. PLoS One 3(2):e1607. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0001607

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  48. Lau CL, Smythe LD, Craig SB, Weinstein P (2010) Climate change, flooding, urbanisation and leptospirosis: fuelling the fire? Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 104(10):631–638. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trstmh.2010.07.002

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Uri K, Takamoto Y, Okada M, Hiramune T, Kikuchi N, Yanagawa R (1993) Chemotaxis of leptospires to hemoglobin in relation to virulence. Infect Immun 61(5):2270–2272

    Google Scholar 

  50. Lambert A, Takahashi N, Charon NW, Picardeau M (2012) Chemotactic behavior of pathogenic and nonpathogenic Leptospira species. Appl Environ Microbiol 78(23):8467–8469. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.02288-12

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  51. Affroze S, Islam MS, Takabe K, Kudo S, Nakamura S (2016) Characterization of Leptospiral chemoreceptors using a microscopic agar drop assay. Curr Microbiol 73(2):202–205. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-016-1049-1

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Martinez-Lopez DG, Fahey M, Coburn J (2010) Responses of human endothelial cells to pathogenic and non-pathogenic Leptospira species. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 4(12):e918. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000918

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  53. Evangelista K, Franco R, Schwab A, Coburn J (2014) Leptospira interrogans binds to cadherins. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 8(1):e2672. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002672 eCollection 2014

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  54. Kassegne K, Hu W, Ojcius DM, Sun D, Ge Y, Zhao J et al (2014) Identification of collagenase as a critical virulence factor for invasiveness and transmission of pathogenic Leptospira species. J Infect Dis 209(7):1105–1115. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jit659

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Atzingen MV, Barbosa AS, De Brito T, Vasconcellos SA, de Morais ZM, Lima DM et al (2008) Lsa21, a novel leptospiral protein binding adhesive matrix molecules and present during human infection. BMC Microbiol 8:70. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2180-8-70

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  56. Igueira CP, Croda J, Choy HA, Haake DA, Reis MG, Ko AI et al (2011) Heterologous expression of pathogen-specific genes ligA and ligB in the saprophyte Leptospira biflexa confers enhanced adhesion to cultured cells and fibronectin. BMC Microbiol 11:129. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2180-11-129

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Segers RP, van der Drift A, de Nijs A, Corcione P, van der Zeijst BA, Gaastra W (1990) Molecular analysis of a sphingomyelinase C gene from Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo. Infect Immun 58(7):2177–2185

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  58. del Real G, Segers RP, van der Zeijst BA, Gaastra W (1989) Cloning of a hemolysin gene from Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo. Infect Immun 57(8):2588–2590

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  59. Shylaja R, Vimalin Jeyalatha M, Malathi J, Biswas J, Madahvan HN (2011) Standardisation and application of polymerase chain reaction for detection of Lru a and Lru B gene of Leptospira interrogans in aqueous humors of uveitic patients. Ocul Immunol Inflamm 19(5):363–366. https://doi.org/10.3109/09273948.2011.592259

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  60. Gómez RM, Vieira ML, Schattner M, Malaver E, Watanabe MM, Barbosa AS et al (2008) Putative outer membrane proteins of Leptospira interrogans stimulate human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECS) and express during infection. Microb Pathog 45(5–6):315–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micpath.2008.08.004

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Rajapakse S, Rodrigo C, Balaji K, Fernando SD (2015) Atypical manifestations of leptospirosis. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 109(5):294–302

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Natarajaseenivasan K, Raja V, Narayanan R (2012) Rapid diagnosis of leptospirosis in patients with different clinical manifestations by 16S rRNA gene based nested PCR. Saudi J Biol Sci 19(2):151–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2011.11.005

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Tullu M, Karande S (2009) Leptospirosis in children: a review for family physicians. Indian J Med Sci 63(8):368

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Leptospirosis | CDC [Internet]. [cited 2019 Apr 4]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/leptospirosis/index.html

  65. Ding LW, Kuo PH, Yang PC (2001) A patient with fever, haemoptysis, and tenderness of calf muscles. Eur Respir J 18(6):1072–1075

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Bhatia M, Umapathy B, Navaneeth B (2015) An evaluation of dark field microscopy, culture and commercial serological kits in the diagnosis of leptospirosis. Indian J Med Microbiol 33(3):416

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  67. Lin P-C, Chi C-Y, Ho M-W, Chen C-M, Ho C-M, Wang J-H (2008) Demographic and clinical features of leptospirosis: three-year experience in Central Taiwan. J Microbiol Immunol Infect 41(2):145–150 Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18473102: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18473102

  68. Verma A, Stevenson B (2012) Leptospiral uveitis - there is more to it than meets the eye! Zoonoses Public Health 59(Suppl 2):132–141. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1863-2378.2011.01445

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Faber NA, Crawford M, LeFebvre RB, Buyukmihci NC, Madigan JE, Willits NH (2000) Detection of Leptospira spp. in the aqueous humor of horses with naturally acquired recurrent uveitis. J Clin Microbiol 38(7):2731–2733

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  70. Pearce JW, Galle LE, Kleiboeker SB, Turk JR, Schommer SK, Dubielizig RR et al (2007) Detection of Leptospira interrogans DNA and antigen in fixed equine eyes affected with end-stage equine recurrent uveitis. J Vet Diagn Invest 19(690):686–690

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  71. Bracho G, Varela E, Fernández R, Ordaz B, Marzoa N, Menéndez J et al (2010) Large-scale application of highly-diluted bacteria for leptospirosis epidemic control. Homeopathy 99(3):156–166

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  72. Şükran K, Tatar B, Ersan G, Topaloǧlu S (2013) A leptospirosis case presenting with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Balkan Med J 30(4):436–438

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  73. Dolhnikoff M, Mauad T, Bethlem EP, Carvalho CR (2007) Pathology and pathophysiology of pulmonary manifestations in leptospirosis. Braz J Infect Dis 11(1):142–148. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1413-86702007000100029

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  74. Gulati S, Gulati A (2012) Pulmonary manifestations of leptospirosis. Lung India 29(4):347–353. https://doi.org/10.4103/0970-2113.102822

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  75. Vijayachari P, Sugunan AP, Singh SS, Mathur PP (2015) Leptospirosis among the self-supporting convicts of Andaman Island during the 1920s--the first report on pulmonary haemorrhage in leptospirosis? Indian J Med Res 142(1):11–22. https://doi.org/10.4103/0971-5916.162087

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  76. Schönfeld A, Jensen B, Orth HM, Tappe D, Feldt T, Häussinger D (2019) Severe pulmonary haemorrhage syndrome in leptospirosis in a returning traveller. Infection 47(1):125–128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-018-1220-7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  77. Singh SS, Vijayachari P, Sinha A, Sugunan AP, Rasheed MA, Sehgal SC (1999) Clinico-epidemiological study of hospitalized cases of severe leptospirosis. Indian J Med Res 109:94–99

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  78. Rahimi R, Omar E, Tuan Soh TS, Mohd Nawi SFA, Md Noor S (2018) Leptospirosis in pregnancy: a lesson in subtlety. Malays J Pathol 40(2):169–173

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  79. Bal AM (2005) Unusual clinical manifestations of leptospirosis. J Postgrad Med 51(3):179–183

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  80. Tomacruz ID, Sandejas JC, Berba R, Sacdalan DR (2019) Behavioural change: a rare presentation of leptospirosis. BMJ Case Rep 12(8). https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2019-230619

  81. Bhatt M, Rastogi N, Soneja M, Biswas A (2018) Uncommon manifestation of leptospirosis: a diagnostic challenge. BMJ Case Rep. https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2018-225281

  82. Silva F, Brandão M, Esteves A (2016) A rare presentation of leptospirosis. Eur J case rep. Intern Med 3(6):000447. https://doi.org/10.12890/2016_000447

    Article  Google Scholar 

  83. Alian S, Taghipour M, Sharifian R, Fereydouni MA (2014) Cavernous sinus thrombosis syndrome and brainstem involvement in patient with leptospirosis: two rare complications of leptospirosis. J Res Med Sci 19(9):907–910

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  84. Silva AP, Burg LB, Felipe J, Locatelli S, Manes J, Crispim M (2011) Leptospirosis presenting as ascending progressive leg weakness and complicating with acute pancreatitis. Brazilian J Infect Dis 15(5):493–497. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1413-8670(11)70236-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  85. Patil VC, Patil HV, Sakaria A, Tryambake S (2019) An unusual case of Weil ’ s syndrome with paraparesis. Indian J Crit Care Med 15(2):130–133

    Google Scholar 

  86. Wang N, Han YH, Sung JY, Lee WS, Ou TY (2016) Atypical leptospirosis: an overlooked cause of aseptic meningitis. BMC Res Notes 9(1):16–19

    Google Scholar 

  87. Vijayachari P (2007) Leptospirosis laboratory manual. World Heal Organ:31–33 Available from: http://apps.searo.who.int/PDS_DOCS/B2147.pdf

  88. Jacob SM, Geethalakshmi S, Karthikeyan S, Durairaj A, Gopal P, Ramamoorthy V et al (2018) A 3-year retrospective analysis on the prevalence of antileptospiral antibodies among children in Chennai City, India. J Med Microbiol 67(12):1706–1710 Available from: http://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.000825. Accessed 8 Apr 2019

  89. Niloofa R, Fernando N, de Silva NL, Karunanayake L, Wickramasinghe H, Dikmadugoda N (2015) Diagnosis of leptospirosis: comparison between microscopic agglutination test, IgM-ELISA and IgM rapid Immunochromatography test. PLoS One 10(6):e0129236. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0129236 eCollection 2015

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  90. Gravekamp C, Van de Kemp H, Franzen M, Carrington D, Schoone GJ, Van Eys GJJM et al (2009) Detection of seven species of pathogenic leptospires by PCR using two sets of primers. J Gen Microbiol 139(8):1691–1700

    Google Scholar 

  91. Woods K, Nic-Fhogartaigh C, Arnold C, Boutthasavong L, Phuklia W, Lim C et al (2018) A comparison of two molecular methods for diagnosing leptospirosis from three different sample types in patients presenting with fever in Laos. Clin Microbiol Infect 24(9):1017.e1–1017.e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2017.10.017

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  92. Rajapakse S, Rodrigo C, Handunnetti SM, Fernando DD (2015) Current immunological and molecular tools for leptospirosis: diagnostics, vaccine design, and biomarkers for predicting severity. Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob 14(1):1–8

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  93. Balassiano IT, Vital-Brazil JM, Pereira MM (2012) Leptospirosis diagnosis by immunocapture polymerase chain reaction: a new tool for early diagnosis and epidemiologic surveillance. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 74(1):11–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2012.05.028

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  94. Chirathaworn C, Kongpan S (2014) Immune responses to Leptospira infection: roles as biomarkers for disease severity. Brazilian J Infect Dis 18(1):77–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjid.2013.08.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  95. Rizvi M, Azam M, Ajmal MR, Shukla I, Malik A (2011) Prevalence of leptospira in acute hepatitis syndrome and assessment of IL-8 and TNF-alpha level in leptospiral hepatitis. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 105(7):499–506 Available from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/1364859411Y.0000000041

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  96. Johnson RC, Rogers P (1964) Differentiation of pathogenic and saprophytic Leptospires with 8-Azaguanine. J Bacteriol 88(6):1618–1623

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  97. Noubade R, Krishnamurthy GV, Murag S, Venkatesha MD, Krishnappa G (2002) Differentiation of pathogenic and saprophytic leptospires by polymerase chain reaction. Indian J Med Microbiol 20(1):33–36

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  98. Vimal Raj R, Vinod Kumar K, Lall C, Vedhagiri K, Sugunan AP, Sunish IP et al (2018) Changing trend in the seroprevalence and risk factors of human leptospirosis in the south Andaman Island, India. Zoonoses Public Health 65(6):683–689

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  99. Xiao D, Zhang C, Zhang H, Li X, Jiang X, Zhang J (2015) A novel approach for differentiating pathogenic and non-pathogenic Leptospira based on molecular fingerprinting. J Proteome 119:1–9

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  100. Charan J, Saxena D, Mulla S (2012) Prophylaxis and treatment for leptospirosis: where are the evidences? Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol 2:78–83

    Google Scholar 

  101. Brett-Major DM, Coldren R (2012) Antibiotics for leptospirosis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2:CD008264. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD008264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  102. Charan J, Saxena D, Mulla S, Yadav P (2013) Antibiotics for the treatment of leptospirosis: systematic review and m 612 eta-analysis of controlled trials. Int J Prev 613 Med 4(5):501–510

    Google Scholar 

  103. Bavia L, de Castro ÍA, Amano MT, da Silva AMG, Vasconcellos SA, Isaac L (2019) Cytokine profile in early infection by Leptospira interrogans in a/J mice. J Immunol Res 2019:1892508. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/1892508

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  104. Phillips JA (2019) Leptospirosis. Workplace Health Saf 67(3):148

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  105. Chusri S, McNeil EB, Hortiwakul T, Charernmak B, Sritrairatchai S, Santimaleeworagun W et al (2014) Single dosage of doxycycline for prophylaxis against leptospiral infection and leptospirosis during urban flooding in southern Thailand: a non-randomized controlled trial. J Infect Chemother 20(11):709–715

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  106. Cristina M, Velasco-Hernandez J, Min KD, Leonel DG, Baca-Carrasco D, Gompper ME, et al (2017) The use of chemoprophylaxis after floods to reduce the occurrence and impact of leptospirosis outbreaks. Int J Environ Res Public Health:14(6)

  107. John TJ (2005) The prevention and control of human leptospirosis. J Postgr Med 51(3):205–209

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  108. Gamberini M, Gómez RM, Atzingen MV, Martins EA, Vasconcellos SA, Romero EC et al (2005) Whole-genome analysis of Leptospira interrogans to identify potential vaccine candidates against leptospirosis. FEMS Microbiol Lett 244(2):305–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.femsle.2005.02.004

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  109. Jorge S, Kremer FS, Oliveira NR, Navarro GOSV, Guimarães AM, Sanchez CD (2018) Whole-genome sequencing of Leptospira interrogans from southern Brazil: genetic features of a highly virulent strain. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 113(2):80–86. https://doi.org/10.1590/0074-02760170130

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  110. Raja V, Natarajaseenivasan K (2013) Pathogenic, diagnostic and vaccine potential of leptospiral outer membrane proteins (OMPs). Crit Rev Microbiol 41(1):1–17. https://doi.org/10.3109/1040841X.2013.787387

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  111. Grassmann AA, Kremer FS, Dos Santos JC, Souza JD, Pinto LDS, McBride AJA (2017) Discovery of novel leptospirosis vaccine candidates using reverse and structural Vaccinology. Front Immunol 8:463. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2017.00463

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  112. Vijayachari P, Sehgal SC (2006) Recent advances in the laboratory diagnosis of leptospirosis and characterisation of leptospires. Indian J Med Microbiol 24(4):320–322

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  113. Ridzlan FR, Bahaman AR, Khairani-Bejo S, Mutalib AR (2010) Detection of pathogenic Leptospira from selected environment in Kelantan and Terengganu, Malaysia. Trop Biomed 27(3):632–638 Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21399605

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Institutional Human Ethics Committee (IHEC) and Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai for approval of the study for publication.

Funding

The author(s) received no external funding for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory Division, ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, R-127, 2nd Main Road, TNHB, Ayapakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600 077, India

    Krishnan Baby Karpagam & Balasubramanian Ganesh

  2. University of Madras, Chennai, India

    Krishnan Baby Karpagam & Balasubramanian Ganesh

Authors
  1. Krishnan Baby Karpagam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Balasubramanian Ganesh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

BK and BG conceptualized the work; BK and BG performed the literature search and wrote the manuscript. BK and BG performed the editing of the manuscript and revisions by both the authors. The decision of the final version to be published was agreed upon by both the authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Balasubramanian Ganesh.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Karpagam, K.B., Ganesh, B. Leptospirosis: a neglected tropical zoonotic infection of public health importance—an updated review. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 39, 835–846 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-019-03797-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-019-03797-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation