Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis (also known as Weil's disease, canicola fever, canefield fever, nanukayami fever or seven day fever) is a bacterial disease.

This disease is caused by spirochaetes of the genus Leptospira. It affects humans and many animals, including mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles.

Leptospirosis was first described by Adolf Weil in 1886. At the time he reported an "acute infectious disease with enlargement of spleen, jaundice and nephritis". The pathogen, Leptospira-genus bacteria was isolated in 1907 from a post mortem kidney slice.

Leptospirosis is a relatively rare bacterial infection in humans. The infection is commonly transmitted to humans when fresh water that has been contaminated by animal urine (often from rats) contacts the skin, eyes or the mucous membranes.

Leptospirosis usually causes heart failure, kidney failure or liver failure, and most sufferers die if they are not treated urgently. However, the disease is quite rare.

Outside of tropical areas, leptospirosis seems to occur most often in the Northern Hemisphere in August and September.