Vol. 10, Special Issue 12 (2021)

Author(s):
Ravinder Saini and Manjeet Singh Kataria

Abstract:
Leptospirosis is a zoonotic infectious disease of bacterial origin caused by spirochete of genus Leptospira. It is a disease of global economic importance affecting both humans and animals. Leptospirosis is also known as 7-day fever, harvest fever, field fever, rat catcher's yellows, rice field worker disease, black jaundice. The symptom ranges from none to mild sickness such as headache, muscle pain, fever, acute kidney failure and jaundice, bleeding from the lungs or even meningitis in human beings and causes stillbirths, abortion, repeat breeding, mastitis and reduced milk production in animals. The disease observed almost in all mammalian species and rodents, wild and domestic animals excrete live organisms of Leptospira in their urine. Occupations associated with high risk of leptospirosis in humans are slaughter houses, veterinarians and those associated with carrier animals directly and indirectly. The definitive diagnosis can be done by using direct and indirect laboratory methods including isolation of Leptospira organisms, Microscopic agglutination Test (MAT) and Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) etc. The treatment includes use of antibiotics like tetracycline, penicillin, ampicillin, doxycycline, streptomycin and erythromycin. The sanitary measures, vaccination, quarantine and rodent control are the most important control measures for prevention of the disease.