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Leptospirosis is a worldwide reemerging tropical zoonotic disease with symptoms of mild febrile illness to more severe multiple organ failure caused by pathogenic leptospiral strains. There was no effective antibiotic for treating leptospirosis. Here, the anti-leptospiral potential of marine actinobacterial compound from Streptomyces indiaensis MSU5 isolated from Manakudy marine sediment, Tamil Nadu, India was evaluated. The potential actinobacterial strain was identified by phenotypic, cell wall, 16S rRNA gene sequence and phylogenetic analysis. In vitro anti-leptospiral activity of the actinobacterial compound was determined using broth microdilution test against various serovars of Leptospira with different concentration ranging from 15.625 to 500 µg/ml. Mass production of anti-leptospiral compound was carried out in agar surface fermentation with optimized condition and purified by preparative TLC. The purified fraction of anti-leptospiral compound named as MSU5-1, and it was confirmed by microdilution test. Remarkably, the compound MSU5-1 showed minimum inhibitory concentration of 62.5 µg/ml and minimum bactericidal concentration of 125 µg/ml against human pathogenic leptospiral isolate strain N2. The structural elucidation of purified compound was carried out using UV, FT-IR, NMR and LC-MS analysis. The compound MSU5-1 was tentatively identified as leptomycin B (C 33 H 48 O 6 ) with molecular weight 541.1 g/mol. Anti-leptospiral activity of compound MSU5-1 exhibited 80% of survival rate in mice model, further it was confirmed by Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. From the available literature, this is the first report on the marine actinobacterial compound for evaluating both in vitro and in vivo leptospiricidal activity.

Leptospirosis is a ubiquitous and potentially fatal zoonosis with protean manifestations. Human infection commonly occurs through contact with contaminated water or soil. In developed countries, leisure or household activities are increasingly associated with the disease. Within few months, we encountered five unrelated and autochthonous cases of severe leptospirosis, three of them requiring interim dialysis. In this case series, we present their clinical course. Furthermore, we provide an overview on the spectrum of organ involvement, with an emphasis on kidney injury, and comment on pitfalls in establishing the diagnosis. The considerable variance in presentation-with admissions both to internal and neurological units-emphasises the high index of suspicion required to arrive at the right diagnosis, particularly in countries of perceived low risk such as Austria.

The infection by Leptospira in horses, in both its acute disease and subclinical forms, is very common, particularly in endemic regions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of subclinical leptospirosis in the athletic performance of racing thoroughbred horses. Athletic performance of 119 racing Thoroughbred horses from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was calculated by assigning a point value for the results in racing (performance index (PI)), and serology for leptospirosis was conducted. A total of 85 (71.4 %) horses showed reactive titers (≥ 100), and of which 52 had high titers (34 with 400 and 18 with ≥ 800). Although those animals had high titers against Leptospira, no clinical signs associated with leptospirosis were observed. Seventeen (89.5 %) out of the 19 horses with substandard performance were seroreactive with high titers, in contrast with 35 % of seroreactivity in horses with good athletic performance (P < 0.0001). Additionally, seroreactivity to leptospirosis was more often observed in horses with substandard athletic performance in contrast to those with good performance (P < 0.0001, odds ratio 15.8). The Average PI of this group increased to 133 % after treatment (P < 0.0001). Leptospirosis may impair performance in racing horses, and antibiotic therapy may improve the performance of affected animals.

Leptospirosis is a direct zoonotic disease caused by spirochetes belonging to the genus Leptospira. Many animals act as carriers or vectors. Human infection results from accidental contact with carrier animals or environment contaminated with animal urine containing the organism. Epidemics of leptospirosis result from poor sanitation in urban areas and are aggravated following natural calamities. The majority of leptospiral infections are either subclinical or result in very mild illness and patients recover without complications. In a few cases it may manifest as multiorgan failure where the mortality can go up to 40%. Infection in pregnant women may be grave leading to severe fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality. The presentation may mimic other viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections, acute fatty liver, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and HELLP syndrome. Owing to the unusual presentation, leptospirosis in pregnancy is often misdiagnosed and under-reported. Preventive public education regarding hygiene, personal practices, source reduction, environmental sanitation, early diagnosis, and treatment of the condition are needed to avoid perinatal and maternal mortality.

The anaphylactic reactions in cattle following leptospira vaccination mostly booster dose in different parts of Iran have been reported. The serum proteins as allergic substances are components of liquid phase of the vaccine. Therefore, the vaccine was modified by washing the whole cultures by centrifugations. The modified vaccine was safe in laboratory animals and cattle as well as under field conditions. Microagglutination test revealed a similar pattern of antibody response to the three Leptospira interrogans serovars (Canicola, Grippotyphosa, and Sejro hardjo) in all vaccinated cattle groups while was higher than the response of control animals. The results of the present investigation revealed that we can minimize postvaccination shock in vaccinated cattle populations with removing the shock proteins.

Background: Leptospirosis is the most widespread zoonosis. Leptospirosis remains underreported in Taiwan because of ignorance and the broad spectrum of clinical manifestations. Acute renal failure (ARF) is a prominent feature of leptospirosis. This investigation conducted a case-control study to obtain information to distinguish leptospirosis from other conditions with similar presentations., Methods: Leptospirosis surveillance was performed at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, between September 2000 and December 2001. Suspected clinical cases were included in the sample and investigated. Diagnosis was confirmed with four-fold or greater increase of microscopic agglutination test (MAT) titer in paired sera; positive immunoglobulin M (IgM) dipstick with single MAT > or =400; or isolation of leptospira. Cases were classified as excluded based on confirmed etiology other than leptospirosis or negative paired serologic test., Results: Twenty-two confirmed cases and 21 excluded cases of leptospirosis were identified from among 169 suspected cases. An outbreak was observed during the flooding from Typhoon Nali. L. shermani, the most common serovar in Taiwan, was identified in 78.5% of confirmed cases. In the confirmed group, mean age was 44 +/- 14.5 (21-66) yrs similar to that of the excluded group, with male predominance (86.4 vs. 57.1%, p<0.05). The most common presentations in the confirmed group were fever (95.5%), ARF (86.4%), myalgia (72.7%) and jaundice (63.6%). Ten patients were infected through occupational or recreational exposure, and in six patients, the infection was associated with flooding. The most distinct presentations of leptospirosis cases compared with excluded cases were increased incidence of hemorrhagic diathesis (odds ratio (OR): 10, p=0.04), myalgia (OR: 8.0, p=0.02), bilateral enlarged kidneys (OR: 7.5, p=0.0004), risk factor exposure (OR: 6.9, p=0.005), sterile pyuria (OR: 6.3, p=0.017), hypokalemia (OR: 5.0, p=0.035) and thrombocytopenia (OR: 4.8, p=0.04). Hospitalization days correlated well with levels of peak creatinine (Cr) (p=0.0362) and platelet nadir (p=0.0039) reached. Penicillin treatment was followed by rapid symptoms and renal function improvement., Conclusions: Prompt recognition of the characteristic presentations of leptospirosis, followed by timely antibiotic treatment, can dramatically save the patients even with severe multiple organ damage.

Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by pathogenic leptospires and is characterized by a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations, varying from inappearent infection to fulminant, fetal disease. Eighty-five to 90% of leptospirosis infections are self-limiting. However, 5-10% of infection by L. interrogans can cause renal tubular damage, microvascular injury, acute renal failure (ARF), and interstitial nephritis. We studied 36 patients with leptospirosis. Twenty-seven (65%) cases of 36 patients had ARF. Fourteen (51%) had nonoliguric ARF. In thirteen (48%) oliguria appeared on the third or fourth days of hospitalization. Serum BUN, creatinine, serum bilirubine, ALT, AST, potassium and thrombocytopenia levels were higher in oliguric than nonoliguric patients (p < 0.05). However, serum sodium, CPK levels were not different between oliguric and nonoliguric groups (p > 0.05). Thirteen patients (48%) needed in renal replacement therapy (RRT). 8 of them were treated by hemodialysis (HD) alone and 5 patients by HD in combination with hemoperfusion. Twenty-five patients (92%) recovered completely after 3-5 weeks. Two patients (7.4%) who had severe hepatorenal and hemorrhagic syndromes, died. We concluded that till now leptospirosis is actual problem for nephrologist in the developing countries because of very high percentage of renal disease, with good prognosis in patients without multiorgan failure and early treatment.

Meningeal involvement in leptospiral infection is quite common, usually mild and often overlooked. In contrast, cases of isolated involvement of the central nervous system, including aseptic meningitis, have been reported only rarely. A case of a patient with acute aseptic meningitis caused by Leptospira australis serovar bratislava is reported. This is believed to be the first report of aseptic meningitis due to Leptospira australis. This case indicates the need to consider human leptospirosis in the differential diagnosis of aseptic meningitis.