Leptospira: An emerging zoonotic pathogen of climate change, global warming and unplanned urbanization: A review

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic infection with a much greater incidence in tropical regions and has now been identified as one of the emerging infectious diseases. The epidemiology of leptospirosis has been modified by changes in animal husbandry, climate and human behavior. Resurgent interest in leptospirosis has resulted from large outbreaks that have received significant publicity. The transmission cycle of leptospirosis involves maintenance hosts, carrier hosts, environment and human beings. The carrier animals in India include rats, pigs, cattle, bandicoots and dogs. Intervention strategies include vaccination, rodent control and improved environmental hygiene to eliminate possibility of water, soil and food contamination. Mass awareness or public education is of utmost importance. The development of simpler, rapid assays for diagnosis has been based largely on the recognition that early initiation of antibiotic therapy is important in acute disease but also on the need for assays which can be used more widely. The gold standard is microscopic agglutination test though serological studies are widely conducted for the diagnostic purpose. The antibiotics use for the treatment of leptospirosis includes oral doxycycline, azithromycin and penicillins. Among the parenteral therapy Intravenous penicillin G and third generation cephalosporins are used. We reviewed the clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of leptospirosis in this study.