Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease, which is triggered by the bacterium known as Leptospira interrogans. This microorganism resides in the kidneys of many animals and is eventually excreted into the soil and water by means of their urine.
During the monsoons in India, the heavy downpour guarantees that the muddy, sloshy water stagnates on the roads for several days past the end of the rains. As a result, one tends to often come into contact with the mud and puddles infested with the excreta of the animal. The infection thus contracted, can attack the body of a person via cracks or openings in the skin, such as in injuries and dried up zones.
Lack of proper diagnosis and prompt treatment of this disease can cause severe damage to vital organs in the body, including the kidney, liver, lungs and brain, and in some cases even death.
Symptoms:
The onset of Leptospirosis is marked by the individual presenting with multiple symptoms, including:
Some of the above-mentioned symptoms are often incorrectly diagnosed and concluded as other diseases. Hence, it is mandatory on the part of the physician or healthcare provider to double check the indications presented by the patient.
Diagnosis And Treatment:
A routine blood test to examine the presence of specific antibodies (proteins involved in the body’s defense mechanism) will be performed by the doctor. Confirmation of leptospirosis is declared if the blood of the patient tests positive for those specific proteins, as the body would ideally only produce them when affected by the disease.
Treatment of leptospirosis is with the antibiotics. The symptoms of the disease will subside in a week’s time as long as the patient sticks to the schedule of medicines. However, in certain cases, if the symptoms of leptospirosis become very severe, the patient needs to be hospitalized and treated.
