Is an Environmental Bacterium That Grows in Waterlogged Soil.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by infection with pathogenic leptospires. Consistent with recent studies by other groups, leptospires were isolated from 89 out of 110 (80.9%) soil or water samples from varied locations in the Philippines in our surveillance study, indicating that leptospires might have a life cycle that does not involve animal hosts.

Characterization of Leptospira species isolated from soil collected in Japan.

Leptospira were isolated from soil obtained from Hokkaido, the northernmost island, to Okinawa, the southernmost island, of Japan using sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, amphotericin B, fosfomycin, and 5- fluorouracil. Fifty of 132 soil samples (37.9%) were culture-positive.

Serological investigation of Leptospira infection and its circulation in one intensive-type water buffalo farm in the Philippines.

Water buffalo is an indispensable livestock in the Philippines. Leptospirosis is a serious zoonosis that can be fatal to humans and cause reproductive problems in livestock. Leptospirosis has been reported in some countries where water buffaloes are commercially raised, highlighting the Leptospira prevalence in this farming system, but information on leptospirosis in water buffalo farms in the Philippines is limited.

The usefulness of semi-solid medium in the isolation of highly virulent Leptospira strains from wild rats in an urban area of Fukuoka, Japan.

Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis. The importance of urban leptospirosis is recognized in Japan: urban rats carry pathogenic leptospires and people acquire these pathogens through contact with surface water or soil contaminated by the urine of the infected animals. To determine the current Leptospira carriage rate in urban rats, 29 wild rats were trapped in the central area of Fukuoka and strains isolated from their kidneys and urine analyzed.

[Leptospirosis now-the centennial of the discovery of Weil's disease pathogen].

This year, 2014, marks the centennial of the discovery of Leptospira as the Weil's disease pathogen by Ryokichi Inada, Yutaka Ido and their colleagues. Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis especially in countries with tropical and subtropical climates. Recently, the number of patients with leptospirosis dramatically decreased in Japan because public hygiene has greatly improved, the mechanization of agriculture was introduced, and farmers started using rubber boots and gloves while working in the field.

PCR and culture identification of pathogenic Leptospira spp. from coastal soil in Leyte, Philippines, after a storm surge during Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp. Most of the outbreaks of leptospirosis occur after floods caused by heavy rain in countries where Leptospira spp. are endemic.

Leptospira-rat-human relationship in Luzon, Philippines.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic infection that is caused by the pathogenic species of Leptospira. Rats are the most important reservoirs of these organisms. Our study aimed to characterize Leptospira isolates from humans and rats and elucidate the Leptospira-rat-human relationship in Luzon, Philippines.

High virulence in hamsters of four dominant Leptospira serovars isolated from rats in the Philippines.

Leptospirosis is caused by pathogenic species of Leptospira. The aim of this study was to determine and characterize the pathogenicity of four dominant Leptospira isolates prevailing among rats in the Philippines. The isolates were Leptospira interrogans serovar Manilae strain K64, L.

Comparative analysis of Leptospira strains isolated from environmental soil and water in the Philippines and Japan.

There have been few reports on the epidemiological analysis of environmental Leptospira isolates. This is probably because the isolation of leptospires from the environment was usually unsuccessful due to the overgrowth of contaminants and the slow growth of Leptospira. In this study, we collected a total of 88 samples of soil and water from three sites: Metro Manila and Nueva Ecija, Philippines (an area where Leptospira is now endemic), and Fukuoka, Japan (an area where Leptospira was once endemic).

Serologic and molecular studies of Leptospira and leptospirosis among rats in the Philippines.

Rats are known to be the most important reservoirs and transmission sources of leptospirosis. However, the status of leptospirosis in the Philippines regarding reservoirs and transmission remains unknown. A survey was conducted in Metro Manila and Laguna that analyzed samples obtained from 106 rats.

Leptospirosis in the Asia Pacific region.

Background: Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic infection that has been recognized for decades, but the problem of the disease has not been fully addressed, particularly in resource-poor, developing countries, where the major burden of the disease occurs. This paper presents an overview of the current situation of leptospirosis in the region. It describes the current trends in the epidemiology of leptospirosis, the existing surveillance systems, and presents the existing prevention and control programs in the Asia Pacific region.

Current status of leptospirosis in Japan and Philippines.

Leptospirosis is an acute febrile illness with a wide variety of clinical manifestations and is encountered throughout the world, prominently in tropical areas with high rainfall. In this paper, we review the current status of leptospirosis in two Asian countries, Japan and Philippines, which have quite different situations in terms of economy, environment, infrastructures and prevailing infectious diseases. In Japan, until 1960, more than 200 deaths due to leptospirosis had been reported yearly.

An unusual illegitimate recombination occurs in the linear-plasmid-encoded outer-surface protein A gene of Borrelia afzelii.

In this study, we describe an unusual illegitimate recombination in the linear-plasmid-encoded outer-surface protein A gene of Borrelia afzelii. A 96 bp DNA segment was deleted from the ospA structural gene of B. afzelii strain R9.