Fourteen cases of leptospirosis due to the Leptospira interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae (Weil's disease) were serologically confirmed in the last 15 years. In two cases, Icterohaemorrhagiae was also isolated from the patients' blood. Both positive cultures were obtained in Korthof's medium by indirect passage through brain-heart infusion medium. One of the isolates was identified as serovar budapest, which has never been reported in Israel. In most of the cases, paradoxical cross-reactions with serovars of the Autumnalis, Hebdomadis and Canicola serogroups were observed in the early stages of the illness. In all cases, we suspected that the source of the infection was serovars of the Icterohaemorrhagiae serogroup shed in the urine of Rattus norvegicus rats. Thirteen of the affected persons were working and living in the Tel Aviv area, all in places not known to be Icterohaemorrhagiae endemic before 1968. One patient was working and living in the Hadera region. All patients were jaundiced, and one died. The illness was usually accompanied by pronounced and long-lasting elevation of blood bilirubin and urea levels.
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Heliyon
January 2025
Bacterial Disease Laboratory, Postgraduate Program in Animal Science in Tropics - Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Leptospirosis is a zoonotic infectious disease that significantly impacts animal and public health. Comparative genomics can aid in understanding poorly understood aspects of leptospirosis pathogenesis, including infection mechanisms, antimicrobial resistance, and host interactions across different epidemiological scenarios. This study aimed to compare the genomes of serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae strains isolated from three host species in a single epidemiological scenario.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathogens
December 2024
Institute of Pest Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Morogoro 67101, Tanzania.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
December 2024
University of Queensland Centre of Clinical Research (UQCCR), University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Little is known about the epidemiology of leptospirosis in the Dominican Republic, the second most populous country in the Caribbean. We report on findings from a multi-stage household survey across two regions in the country that reveals a previously under-estimated burden of human Leptospira infection. Our findings, based on the reference-standard microscopic agglutination test, indicate a complex picture of serogroup diversity, spatial heterogeneity in infection and risk, and a marked discrepancy between reported cases and serologically estimated infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Trop
December 2024
Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
Microorganisms
September 2024
Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, Global Innovation, 813 Cours du Troisième Millénaire, 69800 Saint-Priest, France.
Leptospirosis is a widespread zoonosis caused by spirochaetes belonging to the pathogenic species of , which are classified into more than 25 serogroups and 250 serovars. Vaccination can prevent the disease in dogs but offers incomplete efficacy because of a lack of cross-protection between serogroups. The aim of this study was to validate a robust recruitment and sampling process, with the objectives of isolating and typing circulating pathogenic strains and then selecting those of proven virulence and pathogenicity for vaccine development.
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