Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Jan;8(1):51-8.
doi: 10.1007/s11908-006-0035-3.

Leptospirosis in the tropics and in travelers

Jessica N Ricaldi  1 , Joseph M Vinetz
Affiliations

Leptospirosis in the tropics and in travelers

Jessica N Ricaldi et al. Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2006 Jan.

Abstract

Leptospirosis, caused by spirochetes of the genus Leptospira, has increasingly been recognized to affect travelers and residents in tropical settings. A zoonotic disease, leptospirosis is transmitted to humans through environmental surface waters contaminated by the urine of chronically infected mammals. Outcome of infection varies, ranging from acute febrile illness (including self-resolving undifferentiated fever) to aseptic meningitis to a fulminant syndrome of jaundice, oliguric renal failure, pulmonary hemorrhage, and refractory shock. Hospitalized cases have mortality rates as high as 25%. A recent clinical trial showed that third-generation cephalosporin is as effective as doxycycline and penicillin in the treatment of acute disease. Doxycycline is effective in preventing leptospirosis in travelers. No protective vaccine is currently available.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Clinical approach to the leptospirosis patient. Asterisk indicates the beneficial effect of inhaled nitric oxide when combined with hemofiltration anecdotal based on a single-case report [62]. ICU—intensive care unit; PCR—polymerase chain reaction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Yersin C, Bovet P, Merien F, et al. Pulmonary haemorrhage as a predominant cause of death in leptospirosis in Seychelles. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2000;94:71–76. - PubMed
    1. Trevejo RT, Rigau-Perez JG, Ashford DA, et al. Epidemic leptospirosis associated with pulmonary hemorrhage-Nicaragua, 1995. J Infect Dis. 1998;178:1457–1463. - PubMed
    1. Marotto PC, Nascimento CM, Eluf-Neto J, et al. Acute lung injury in leptospirosis: clinical and laboratory features, outcome, and factors associated with mortality. Clin Infect Dis. 1999;29:1561–1563. - PubMed
    1. Segura E, Ganoza C, Campos K, et al. Clinical spectrum of pulmonary involvement in leptospirosis in an endemic region, with quantification of leptospiral burden. Clin Infect Dis. 2005;40:343–351. This population-based study demonstrated the urban association of severe disease in the tropical setting and delineated a spectrum of pulmonary manifestations in severe disease. A higher leptospiral burden, quantified using a real-time PCR assay, was associated with poor outcome. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vinetz JM, Glass GE, Flexner CE, et al. Sporadic urban leptospirosis. Ann Intern Med. 1996;125:794–798. - PubMed