Seroprevalence of leptospirosis in an endemic mixed urban and semi-urban setting-A community-based study in the district of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Leptospirosis is endemic in Sri Lanka. There is a need for updated seroprevalence studies in endemic areas, to improve the understanding of disease dynamics, risk factors, control methods, and for clinical diagnosis. The cut-off titres for the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) for diagnosis of acute leptospirosis depend on community seroprevalence, and can vary based on locality and serovar.

Atypical manifestations of leptospirosis.

Leptospirosis is an illness with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations and severe illness affects nearly all organ systems. Serious and potentially life-threatening clinical manifestations of acute leptospirosis are caused by both direct tissue invasion by spirochaetes and by the host immune responses. In its severe form, leptospirosis can cause multi-organ dysfunction and death in a matter of days.