Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira species. Leptospira are  spirochaetes (curved bacteria) that cause infection in animals, and are carried asymptomatically by rodents, especially rats. When humans are infected, clinical presentation ranges from asymptomatic or mildly febrile illness (90% of cases) to life-threatening or fatal (10% of cases. Severe leptospirosis is also known as Weil’s syndrome.