What is Leptospirosis?
Q: What is Leptospirosis?
A: Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease caused by spirochaetes of the genus Leptospira.
Q: Who first described this disease?
A: Adolf Weil first described this disease in 1886.
Q: How is it usually transmitted to humans?
A: It is usually transmitted to humans by allowing fresh water that has been contaminated by animal urine (often from rats) to come in contact with the skin, eyes or with the mucous membranes.
Q: What are some of the symptoms of leptospirosis?
A: The symptoms of leptospirosis include heart failure, kidney failure or liver failure. Most sufferers die if they are not treated urgently.
Q: When does leptospirosis occur most often?
A: Except for tropical areas, leptospirosis seems to occur most often in the months August to September, in the Northern Hemisphere.
Q: What other names does leptospirosis go by?
A: Leptospirosis also goes by Weil's Disease, Canicola Fever, Canefield Fever, Nanukayami Fever and Seven Day Fever.
Q: When was the pathogen isolated from a post mortem kidney slice?
A: The pathogen was isolated from a post mortem kidney slice in 1907.
