Leptospirosis is transmitted to humans through coming into contact with infected animal urine and then touching your eyes, nose, mouth or through a cut or other broken skin.
You can also become infected with leptospirosis by touching fresh water, soil or other objects that have been contaminated and infected with animal urine.
The first signs of leptospirosis are stomach pain, red eyes, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), vomiting or nausea, body and or muscle aches, chills, headaches and fever.
Leptospirosis is an illness and infectious disorder in animals and humans and is the most common zoonotic infection in the world.
The Leptospirosis infection is easily transmitted from infected animals through their urine, either directly or through infected soil or water.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease spread through the urine of infected animals.
Humans can get leptospirosis from animals including dogs through direct contact with urine from infected animals or through water, soil, or food contaminated with their urine. It's most common in warm climates.
High fever, headache, bleeding, muscle pain, chills, red eyes, and vomiting are some leptospirosis symptoms.
Without treatment, leptospirosis can lead to kidney and liver damage and even death.
Antibiotics can clear the leptospirosis infection.
For dogs, the midwestern, eastern, and southwestern regions of the United States are considered hotspots of the leptospirosis infection.
All dogs are at risk of leptospirosis, regardless of the dogs age, breed, lifestyle, geographic location, time of year, and other factors.
Most cases of leptospirosis have either no symptoms or have very mild symptoms that go away on their own.
Only about 1% of people with leptospirosis get severely ill with Weil's syndrome.
Weil's syndrome is often deadly if not treated or if you delay treatment.
Some people can also develop long lasting effects following leptospirosis infection.
Some people with leptospirosis go on to develop severe disease.
This can include kidney failure, jaundice (yellow coloration of the skin and eye balls which indicates liver disease), and bleeding and respiratory complications.
Leptospirosis is most common in tropical climates.
On average, 100-150 cases of human illness are reported annually in the United States.
People who work outdoors or with animals or those involved in freshwater activities may be at increased risk for infection.
Leptospirosis is spread in the pee of infected animals, most commonly rats, mice, cows, pigs and dogs.
The diagnosis of leptopirosis is confirmed by a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of blood or urine or by positive serologic testing; rarely, a diagnosis is made by a positive culture of blood or urine.
The diagnosis is not ruled out by negative test results because the sensitivity of leptospirosis testing is suboptimal.