Severe and frequent complications are characterized by such a dangerous infectious disease as leptospirosis. The causative agents are anaerobic bacteria of the genus Leptospira. Not only animals are affected, they often diagnose leptospirosis in humans. Symptoms of the disease are usually acute. The incubation period lasts an average of two weeks. Then the patient’s temperature rises sharply (up to 40 ° C), there is tremendous chills, muscle pain, often in the calf, headaches. Leptospirosis in humans is also characterized by redness and puffiness of the face, rapid heartbeat and breathing, and low blood pressure.
After 3 days from the onset of the disease, a point and urtical rash usually appears on the skin, the spleen and liver increase , urination is difficult, urination symptoms and jaundice often appear. Typically, the temperature lasts about a week, then critically decreases. A second wave of fever is also possible.
The source of infection are commercial, domestic and wild animals that have had leptospirosis. Bacteria are excreted for a long time with the urine of sick animals into the environment. The carriers of leptospira, in most cases, are hedgehogs, shrews, field mice and rats. The disease is common among farm animals. A person becomes infected by contact, for example, when bathing in ponds, animal bites, aspiration when hay is harvested, and alimentary when eating leptospira contaminated products. Leptospirosis in humans is often of a professional nature. Workers in agriculture, meat processing plants and slaughterhouses, as well as plumbers and miners, are most susceptible to infection.
Leptospirosis Complications
Complications of this disease pose a great danger. Human leptospirosis sometimes leads to such serious complications as kidney failure, pneumonia, myocarditis, cerebral edema, various eye lesions, and acute circulatory disorders. Mortality in this disease reaches 1-3%, but during the epidemic this figure rises to 35%. The cause of death of patients is often acute liver or kidney failure, and in some cases meningoencephalitis or hemorrhagic pneumonia.
Diagnosis and treatment
If leptospirosis is suspected, urine, blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures are made on nutrient media. The diagnosis is also confirmed with the help of serological reactions - microagglutination-lysis, RSK, RNGA. Human leptospirosis is differentiated from diseases such as infectious mononucleosis, hemorrhagic fever, viral hepatitis, meningitis.
Leptospirosis treatment is carried out exclusively in a hospital. Patients are prescribed antibiotics, often penicillin. Leptospira are also sensitive to cephalosporin antibiotics, chloramphenicol, polymyxin, tetracycline. In severe cases, a multivalent antileptospirosis immunoglobulin is used, which is administered in the first three days of a febrile state according to the scheme. At the slightest manifestation of signs of renal failure or the development of hepatic encephalopathy, resuscitation measures are used.
Antibiotic therapy is continued until the seventh day of the patient’s normal body temperature. In an anicteric form and in the absence of complications, the prognosis of the disease is favorable. In most cases, a person's leptospirosis ends in recovery, which occurs, on average, in the fourth week of illness. As a rule, patients for a long time concerned about muscle pain and weakness.
Persons at high risk of contracting leptospira in the workplace are vaccinated with the specific killed leptospirosis vaccine.