Costa Rican Health
Ministry Confirms Case
of Leptospirosis
The Ministerio de Salud
(health ministry) has
confirmed one case of "leptospirosis"
in Costa Rica, a 30 year
old man resident of Tres
Rios, who is in the
Hospital Max Peralta,
Cartago, since last
week.
Hospital officials say
the man's condition is
delicate.
Leptospirosis, also
known as
seven-day-fever, has
taken toll of nine lives
in Nicaragua. The
waterborne disease,
which spread through
animal urine, has also
sickened more than 1,600
in the country,
Nicaraguan health
officials said Monday.
Leptospirosis (also
known as Weil's disease,
canicola fever,
canefield fever,
nanukayami fever, is a
bacterial zoonotic
disease caused by
spirochaetes of the
genus Leptospira that
affects humans and a
wide range of animals,
including mammals,
birds, amphibians, and
reptiles. It was first
described by Adolf Weil
in 1886 when he reported
an "acute infectious
disease with enlargement
of spleen, jaundice and
nephritis". Leptospira
was first observed in
1907 from a post mortem
renal tissue slice
Except for tropical
areas, leptospirosis
cases have a relatively
distinct seasonality
with most of them
occurring August through
September (in the
Northern Hemisphere).
In human, leptospiral
infection causes a wide
range of symptoms, and
some infected persons
may have no symptoms at
all. Leptospirosis is a
biphasic disease that
begins with flu-like
symptoms (fever, chills,
myalgias, intense
headache).
The first phase resolves
and the patient is
asymptomatic briefly
before the second phase
begins that is
characterized by
meningitis, liver damage
(causing jaundice), and
renal failure.
Because of the wide
range of symptoms the
infection is often
wrongly diagnosed. This
leads to a lower
registered number of
cases than there really
are.
Symptoms of
leptospirosis include
high fever, severe
headache, chills, muscle
aches, and vomiting, and
may include jaundice,
red eyes, abdominal
pain, diarrhea, and/or a
rash. The symptoms in
humans appear after 4-14
day incubation period.
Humans become infected
through contact with
water, food, or soil
containing urine from
these infected animals.
This may happen by
swallowing contaminated
food or water or through
skin contact.
The disease is not known
to be spread from person
to person and cases of
bacterial dissemination
in convalescence are
extremely rare in humans.
Leptospirosis is common
among watersport
enthusiasts in specific
areas as prolonged
immersion in water is
known to promote the
entry of the bacteria.
Occupational risk
factors include
veterinarians, slaughter
house workers, farmers,
and sewer workers. An
outbreak in an inner
city environment has
been linked to contact
with rat urine.
In Costa Rica up to 60
cases of
Leptospirosis and health
officials say the latest
case is not related to
outbreak in Nicaragua. |
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