A GP may prescribe antibiotic tablets to treat the infection. Most people recover in a few days or weeks. Take paracetamol or ibuprofen to relieve any aches, pains or a high temperature. Leptospirosis is rare in the UK. In very severe cases, symptoms include haemorrhaging from the mouth, eyes and internally.
There is significant and rapid organ damage: liver and kidney failure can occur within 10 days, leading to jaundice these are the only cases that can properly be called Weil's disease. Hospitalisation, followed by antibiotics and often dialysis, will be required if the patient is to survive. Recovery can take months. Initial growth may be slow and it may take up to three months for a positive culture result. Most cases of leptospirosis are diagnosed by serology testing for specific antibodies.
Antibodies are present from about 10 days into the illness. This is, however, not ideal as in parts of the world where leptospirosis is most common there may not be the facility for this type of testing, and also a large percentage of these populations may be antibody positive. Recently real-time polymerase chain reaction PCR assays have been found more helpful.
These can confirm the diagnosis in the early phase of the disease, before antibody titres are at detectable levels, by identifying leptospiral DNA. Most cases of leptospirosis are mild and resolve spontaneously without treatment and indeed often without being identified. Antibiotic treatment is widely used but a Cochrane review found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against the use of antibiotics for leptospirosis.
Use of antibiotics for leptospirosis may decrease the duration of clinical illness by two to four days, although this result was not statistically significant. Selection of penicillin, doxycycline, or cephalosporin did not seem to impact on mortality or the duration of fever. It was therefore concluded that the benefit of antibiotic therapy in the treatment of leptospirosis remains unclear, particularly for severe disease [ 13 ]. Antibiotics therefore may not be used for mild cases in low risk people.
The vast majority of leptospiral infections are self-limiting. Important causes of death include acute kidney injury, cardiopulmonary failure and widespread haemorrhage. One to three people in England and Wales die every year from leptospirosis [ 1 ]. Leptospirosis ; Public Health England. Zoonoses Report ; UK Government, Front Cell Infect Microbiol.
Microbiol Res. Epub Nov Rodent control can also help to prevent infection - for example, rubbish disposal and ensuring that rodents cannot get into buildings. If there is contact with fresh, surface waters for example, canals, ponds or rivers, or with rats then you should:. For those at very high risk of leptospirosis for a short period of time, the antibiotic doxycycline may be prescribed to reduce the chance of developing infection.
Vaccination of some animals is carried out to help to control the infection. No human vaccine against leptospirosis is currently available in the UK. Leptospirosis ; Public Health England. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. J Microbiol Immunol Infect. Epub Apr Cochrane Database Syst Rev. Charan J, Saxena D, Mulla S, et al ; Antibiotics for the treatment of leptospirosis: systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials.
Int J Prev Med. I'm almost certain I have worms, I just don't know what kind. So I've been having gastro symptoms for over 5 months now. Colonoscopy, blood work and ultrasound all came back normal. My first stool Disclaimer: This article is for information only and should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions. Egton Medical Information Systems Limited has used all reasonable care in compiling the information but make no warranty as to its accuracy.
Consult a doctor or other health care professional for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. For details see our conditions. In this article What is leptospirosis? How is leptospirosis spread? How common is leptospirosis and who gets it? Leptospirosis symptoms in humans Leptospirosis diagnosis What is the treatment for leptospirosis? What is the outlook? Can leptospirosis be prevented?
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