Leptospirosis News and Research

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The pathogenic bacterial spirochetes of the Leptospiragenus are responsible for the infectious disease called leptospirosis. Both humans and animals can be infected and it is one of the most common infectious diseases of animals that can be transmitted naturally to humans. About 9 in every 10 people affected will experience mild flu-like symptoms. These include myalgia (muscle pain), chills, and headaches in the early stages. More severe presentations of the disease include internal hemorrhaging and multiple organ failure, which is life-threatening and is referred to as Weil’s disease.

Virginia Tech researchers identify leptospirosis as a major health threat in Botswana

The newest public health threat in developing countries may not be a cinematic-quality emerging disease but actually a disease from animals that was identified more than 100 years ago.

15 May 2013

Peter Piot to be recognized with Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for Medical Research

Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, will be awarded the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for Medical Research, the Government of Japan have announced.

14 Mar 2013

Links between rodents' environment, climate and leptospirosis infection

Leptospirosis is a water-related bacterial disease with a high incidence in Southeast Asia. People usually become infected through exposure to water contaminated by the urine of infected animals, mainly rats and mice. In the framework of the CERoPath program, IRD researchers and their partners have revealed the relationship between rodents' environment and infection by leptospirosis bacteria.

9 Jan 2013

Honduras becomes first LAC country to launch national plan to combat NTDs

"A major milestone was achieved on April 12, when Honduras became the first country in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region to officially launch an integrated national plan to combat neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)," the the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases' "End the Neglect" blog reports.

20 Apr 2012

Imaxio closes EUR 2.9 million funding round

Imaxio, a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the areas of vaccines and genomics, announces today that it has finalized a funding round in which it raised EUR 2.9 million from its principal shareholder, Pradeyrol Developpement.

17 Apr 2012

Government, humanitarian agencies respond to flooding in Philippines, warn of disease threat

"Philippine authorities are warning of the spread of diseases in cramped evacuation centers, days after flash floods hit the southern Philippines and claimed more than a thousand lives," ABC/Asia Pacific News reports, noting that flooding also has affected the country's northern provinces, displacing at least 50,000 people.

22 Dec 2011

Philippines health officials warn of disease risk following Typhoon Nesat

"Philippines authorities are warning of possible water-borne disease outbreaks following Typhoon Nesat," which ripped through the country on Tuesday causing widespread damage including power outages, flooding and landslides, IRIN reports (9/28). According to Reuters, at least 21 people have been killed by the storm and its consequences (Mogato, 9/28).

29 Sep 2011

New research aims to control transmission of infectious diseases

New research aimed at controlling the transmission of diseases among humans, other animals and the environment is being made possible by grants from a collaboration among U.S. and U.K. funding agencies.

15 Sep 2011

Flood-borne diseases make their appearance

In the wake of Queensland’s devastating floods there are warnings to residents, volunteers and others regarding protection against diseases. Australian Medical Association Queensland president-elect Dr Richard Kidd said he expected a number of diseases to appear as a result of people coming in contact with floodwaters and especially the mud left behind.

27 Jan 2011

Free online training Webinars to prepare nurses for continued relief efforts in Haiti launched

While disaster response is a highly technical and sensitive effort, the most qualified of disaster professionals require additional education or real-life experience to ensure that help is delivered effectively, safely and efficiently. To assist nursing professionals volunteering their services in Haiti, Chamberlain College of Nursing in cooperation with the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future, will provide free online training Webinars hosted on the Gannett Healthcare Group's newly launched Haiti Web page to prepare nurses physically, mentally and culturally for the continued relief efforts.

6 Mar 2010

Travellers are likely to become increasingly exposed to canecutter's disease: Study

A team led by PhD researcher Dr Colleen Lau from the School of Population Health http://www.sph.uq.edu.au/ , has discovered the disease, known medically as leptospirosis, was traditionally a concern for males working in the agricultural and livestock industries, as it is contracted from contact with the urine of host animals.

18 Feb 2010

Post-storm conditions in Philippines continue to threaten health

Filipinos are "struggling to live in flooded suburbs or crowded shelters one month after devastating rains began pounding the Philippines, and officials warn no quick fix is in sight," Agence France-Presse reports. According to the WHO, 1.43 million people, "mostly in and around Manila, continue to endure a dangerous existence living in flooded districts" (Morella, 10/26).

26 Oct 2009

Philippines calls for help to address disease outbreak in storms' aftermath

The WHO on Thursday said the Philippines is requesting "international help to fight a deadly outbreak of an infectious disease following two devastating tropical storms," Agence France-Presse reports. Parts of Manila, which are still flooded almost four weeks after Tropical Storm Ketsana hit, are experiencing an outbreak of the bacterial infection, leptospirosis (10/22).

24 Oct 2009

Philippines at risk for rapid spread of disease after typhoons

"Survivors of two powerful storms that caused widespread destruction in the Philippines in recent weeks are threatened by outbreaks of potentially life-threatening diseases, as the country braces for another super-typhoon," named Lupit, that is expected to make landfall on Thursday, the Guardian reports.

19 Oct 2009

Woman dies after being scratched by a wild rat

As a rule leptospirosis victims experience severe headaches and flu-like symptoms but the severe form which is Weil's disease, causes jaundice and liver damage, and can be fatal - but it usually only affects 10% of leptospirosis victims.

15 Sep 2008

Bacterial slime helps cause Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a serious but neglected emerging disease that infects humans through contaminated water. Now research published in the May issue of the journal Microbiology shows for the first time how bacteria that cause the disease survive in the environment.

19 May 2008

Impact of environment and social gradient on Leptospira infection in urban slums

A study conducted in an urban slum setting in Salvador, Brazil has found that open sewers, accumulations of refuse, and inadequate floodwater drainage are acting as sources for transmission of the disease leptospirosis. The study is published in this week's PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

23 Apr 2008

Leptospira licerasiae, a new species of infectious disease found in Amazon

While investigating the tropical disease leptospirosis in the Peruvian Amazon, an infectious disease specialist from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has uncovered new, emerging bacteria that may be responsible for up to 40 percent of cases of the disease.

3 Apr 2008

Cause of leptospirosis outbreak in Thailand discovered

A single disease-causing clone of the bacterium Leptospira interrogans was behind the recent sustained outbreak of leptospirosis in Thailand, according to a new collaborative investigation by researchers in Thailand, Australia, and the UK.

31 Oct 2007