This article will discuss a disease that affects the human liver. The problems associated with this body can be divided into two groups conditionally. The first is characterized by the occurrence of ailments due to malnutrition, as well as due to excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. And the second - destroys the liver due to infectious diseases. If we talk about the latter, then they are of the viral and bacterial types. Given the fact that many liver diseases manifest with the same symptoms, it is quite difficult to make a correct diagnosis.
Leptospirosis is considered one of the most severe. It is difficult to treat. This article will examine what the causative agent of the infection is, as well as how the disease manifests itself. Find out the causes, stages of the disease, the full symptoms. It is important to understand whether treatment exists, how the diagnosis is performed. Complications and consequences that may result from non-compliance with medical measures will be described. We also talk a little about the vaccine against leptospirosis.
Pathogen Description
Leptospirosis is considered an infectious disease, the causative agent of which is able to reproduce only in certain animals. Foci of inflammation, as a rule, are found in almost all places, and at different times of the year. An exception should be called only cold places.
The causative agent of leptospirosis is a bacterium that belongs to the class of spirochetes. This organism loves the aquatic environment, therefore, most often people and animals suffer from the disease. The bacterium has a large number of small curls. It grows very slowly under artificial conditions, so it is difficult at the initial stage to make the correct diagnosis. You can detect the problem only a week after infection.
The causative agent of leptospirosis is able to survive in almost many conditions. Bacteria do not give in to low temperature, ultraviolet radiation, acids, alkalis, disinfectants. Organisms can survive in soil for at least 3 months, and in water for at least 3 weeks. Once in a person, leptospira attaches to blood vessels and blood cells, starting to damage them. At the same time, bacteria secrete endotoxin. It affects all body systems, disrupting their functionality.
Causes of the disease
The causative agent of leptospirosis, as a rule, affects wild and domestic animals, respectively, they infect the soil and water. The main carriers should be noted rodents, however, there are other animals that also give in to this infection.
We are talking about rats, voles, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, marmots, pigs, dogs and horses, as well as cattle.
The causative agent of leptospirosis is transmitted alimentarily. Consider how the disease passes to a person. This happens when eating infected animals, when absorbing water during bathing, as well as during contact with those objects that contain bacteria seeds.
It is impossible to get infected from another person. Infection is transmitted only from animals. Most often, adults and adolescents suffer. This disease is characterized by a certain seasonality, most often the disease occurs in the summer-autumn period. After the infection is eliminated, a person has a strong immunity. However, this does not mean that he can no longer become infected with this disease. This is due to the fact that leptospirosis causes more than 19 types of bacteria.
Stages of the development of the disease
Most often, infection occurs through contact with water. If the skin is damaged, then the causative agent of leptospirosis is taxonomy and other bacteria that enter the wound and then into the body. In this case, visible skin disorders do not occur. The main changes can be noticed only when examining organs and blood vessels.
The disease proceeds in five phases. First, the pathogen enters the liver, spleen, lungs. Further, the first clinical signs appear, and the pathogen spreads throughout the body. In the third week of the disease, the most severe symptoms appear. The vessels become brittle and burst easily with any damage.
The fourth stage is often accompanied by attenuation of symptoms. The disease ends already in the fifth week. This period is the most dangerous, because with improper treatment or non-compliance with medical standards, relapses and complications can occur.
The disease cannot be considered dangerous if we talk about its consequences, but during the epidemic, mortality reached 30%. When a person has a phase of infection, the manifestation is minimal or completely absent. However, the changes are already becoming noticeable. As a rule, this phase lasts up to a month, but in many patients - no more than 2 weeks. Sometimes additional stages are also distinguished, for example, the initial stage, in which a person has a severe course of the disease for about a week. During the height of the stage, severe damage to the organs appears, and then the symptoms subside or full recovery occurs. Each period lasts about a week, if it is a mild course.
Symptomatology
As mentioned earlier, in the first week of the disease, the general symptoms are minimal or completely absent. Suspicion of the development of this ailment can only cause contact with an animal that is sick or swimming in a pond where a focus has been identified.
Consider the symptoms in the initial period. The temperature can rise sharply up to 40 degrees. Fever, as a rule, does not last more than 7 days. A person has a headache and weakness of the body. Severe abdominal pain can also occur, which is quite painful on palpation. The psychological factor also works: during the course of the disease, a person may appear too strong irritability and excitability. His face begins to redden, his eyes turn red, and other infections may appear against the background of a decrease in immunity. In children, rashes often occur on the lips, as well as on the mucous membranes. 2 days after the onset of infection, a person develops a rash. Bruising can occur on the knees and elbows. Diagnosis of this disease is based on a general analysis of blood and urine, as well as on checking the cerebrospinal fluid: does it contain leptospira. Bronchitis, sputum, which is secreted along with blood, can also develop, and when examined, a significantly enlarged liver and spleen often become.
Symptoms during the height of the disease
Already in the second week of the course of the disease, often in most patients its height begins, in which all organs and systems suffer. First of all, there is a problem with the nervous system, kidneys and liver. General symptoms begin to fade, but damage to internal organs is becoming increasingly serious. The liver begins to become inflamed by the end of the first week or by the beginning of the second. The skin turns yellow, a rash and itching occurs. The kidneys begin to work poorly, the amount of urine excreted is reduced to almost zero. In the analysis, you can identify protein, as well as an increased level of white blood cells. The disease also gives an imprint on the vascular system, arrhythmia may appear, and pressure also rises or falls. Often there is hemorrhage in the skin or in the internal organs. It should be noted that with an infectious disease of leptospirosis, stool relaxation does not occur, even with the fact that liver tissue is periodically inflamed.
In the next period, the disease begins to recede and the functions of the organs are restored. However, a third of patients may experience a relapse in which the symptoms return. In this case, jaundice, as a rule, does not occur, and organ damage is almost minimal. The disease lasts in the normal phase for no more than 4 weeks, but if there are relapses, then it can drag on for up to 3 months.
Complications
If you ignore the symptoms and treatment of leptospirosis, then severe complications and consequences can occur. It should also be noted that even with the timely diagnosis and treatment started, it is often almost impossible to predict the possible consequences. However, you can consider all the consequences that can lead to leptospirosis. A relapse can occur. In 3% of cases, a fatal outcome occurs, liver failure, various renal dysfunctions, or kidney failure can develop. Muscle paralysis, bleeding, shock, vision and hearing problems, pneumonia, stomatitis are also possible complications.
Diagnosis of the disease
Initially, when checking for leptospirosis, 2 general tests are taken: for blood and urine. However, thanks to them, it is possible to establish the fact of the presence of any inflammation in the body, as well as problems with the functioning of the kidneys. At the very beginning of the disease, leptospira can be detected using a method called a “crushed drop”. During the course of the acute phase of the pathogen, it can be detected in almost all fluids released naturally in the body.
In the second period, serological methods are used. Differential diagnosis of this disease is carried out if viral hepatitis, malaria and some other problems also occur.
Disease treatment
Therapy is carried out only in a stationary mode. Given that the infection is quite severe, it is undesirable to be with her at home. The doctor will monitor the amount of urine released, therefore, most often prescribed water-salt solutions, which will restore the balance in the body. With this disease, some antibiotics are also prescribed. Which drug will be prescribed depends entirely on the stage of the disease. The morphology of the causative agent of leptospirosis is described above. They are distinguished by up to 19 different species, so treatment will be difficult to choose. There is a symptomatic course. If a person has serious violations of the organs and systems of the body, then they will be eliminated first of all. If we talk about specific drugs, then we are talking about serum against leptospirosis. It has the greatest effect only in the initial stage of the disease.
Disease prevention
During preventive measures, sick animals and carriers of infection are treated. They carry out special sanitary-educational work in those places where frequent outbreaks of the disease are observed. Animals that may become infected with this disease may be given special serum. It will prevent the development of infection. So you can protect yourself from the symptoms of leptospirosis in humans. Reasons are easier to eliminate in order to prevent the development of the problem. Also to preventive measures should be noted the wearing of special tools that allow you to protect yourself when working with various farm animals.
Graft
The most effective method that helps prevent the disease is vaccination. However, doctors protect only certain categories of citizens from infections. Among them, it is necessary to distinguish between veterinarians and livestock breeders who can be infected from a sick animal. At risk of infection are the workers of the meat-packing plant, cesspool workers, as well as people who work in laboratories.
Use of a vaccine against this disease
In order not to encounter treatment and symptoms of leptospirosis, it is necessary to vaccinate. It is made on the basis of evidence, the minimum age is 7 years. If the animal world has a huge number of ways how to protect yourself from infections, then in humans this choice is small. A special inactivated vaccine is used. In other words, these are killed strains of microorganisms that can protect a person without causing the infection itself.
The vaccine is administered under the scapula in a dosage of 0.5 ml. Immunization is done once, but if a person is at risk, then he does it annually. The vaccine cannot be the cause of leptospirosis, however, such cases do occur. Most often, they occur due to the fact that a person is allergic to drugs. Sometimes swelling and soreness may appear. Children under seven years of age, pregnant, breastfeeding and people who have problems with the nervous system, it is forbidden to do this procedure.
Vaccination and treatment of animals
The causative agent of leptospirosis in animals affects quite often, so vaccination will be one of the important preventive measures. How it should be carried out completely depends on the conditions in which the animal was acquired. If the owner can be convinced that the animal does not have an infection (acquired in a nursery or from a breeder), then the standard procedure is done. If the animal was picked up on the street or bought from hand, then passive immunization should be carried out. To do this, use hyperimmune serum before the vaccine. Those people who have pets are at risk. Most often the dog or cat is infected. They become infected by contact with water where bacteria are present. A person later picks up a disease if there is a skin lesion and there has been contact with water, where there is saliva or urine of the animal.
Also the cause of the disease can be mice and rats. In microbiology, many interesting facts have been written about the causative agent of leptospirosis: they are able to infect any organism. Most often, the infection occurs after a bite of the latter. Its source may be food, which got saliva or other secretions of an infected dog, cat. If any domestic animals prey on rats, then there is also a chance of illness. That is why it is necessary to fight rodents. It is necessary to clean the attic, in the back room and basement. Garbage needs to be taken out in a timely manner. All slots and openings through which animals can enter the room should be closed.
Summary
Almost everyone can get leptospirosis. The causative agent of the infection is in the environment, it can be carried by domestic and wild animals with which people come into contact. It is difficult to make a diagnosis on your own, but preventative measures can be taken that will protect against the disease. And then, it should be noted that the resistance of the pathogen of leptospirosis to serum is often strong. Also, if any symptoms occur, you should immediately consult a doctor in order to start treatment on time and minimize the consequences.