1 Scheme of infection

Among animals, the causative agent is transmitted by contact with contaminated food or water. For humans, animals are considered to be the source of infection. The carriers of the pathogen can be pigs, dogs, cattle, shrews and rats. The person who has already fallen under the impact of pathology, does not pose a threat to others. Often, infection occurs when you use milk from an infected animal or when cutting meat. This explains the large number of patients from among veterinarians, as well as employees or owners of livestock farms.

Another way of infection is contact with moist soil or water contaminated with animal secretions. Letospiram sufficient temporary contact with the mucous membranes of the eye or the skin, where there is a slightest scratch, a cut.

The causative agent, penetrating the human body, leaves no traces at the entry point. The first 2 weeks actively travels through the body, using the lymphatic system. Its purpose is to organs and tissues. Letospiri with the maximum speed begin the process of capturing internal organs. They are recorded in the spleen, lungs, kidneys and liver. As soon as the incubation period is completed, the symptoms of leptospirosis in a person begin to appear as a result of severe poisoning with the products of the vital activity of the parasite. Using the causative agent of the lymphatic system as a way to get to any part of the human body requires to remain invisible to its security system. So during the incubation period, consisting in an increase in the number of cholera sprays, no inflammation in the lymph nodes is observed.

Increasing number of toxins penetrating the blood, causing disruption in the work of the central nervous system, the destruction of red blood cells, reduces blood clotting.

2 Signs of the pathology

Three specific diseases are identified among the specific manifestations of leptospirosis:

1. Aseptic meningitis. A sign of the disease is a rare occurrence.

1. Kidney damage. The patient has bleeding of the stomach and nasal character. Man suffers from hemoptysis. Often, such patients are registered hemorrhagic pneumonia or hemorrhage to the adrenal glands. In addition, patients may have pyuria, hematuria, azotemia or proteinuria. Conducting a physical examination and a laboratory test with liver damage can reveal the altered structure of blood serum and increase the size of the liver. Patients complain of persistent pain in the liver.

1. Weil Syndrome. The main characteristics of the condition are disorder of consciousness, jaundice, prolonged fever, anemia. In parallel with it, there are lesions of the liver and kidneys. Most clearly the syndrome begins to look on the second stage of the disease.

3 Diagnosis of the disease

To determine the true causes of the patient's condition allows only bacteriological research. The disease has signs similar to the manifestation of meningitis, shock toxic syndrome, nephritis, hepatitis, fever.

The first stage of the disease presents itself with the presence of leptospira in cerebrospinal fluid and blood. The further development of pathology and its transition to the second stage allows pathogens to appear in the patient's urine. This usually takes at least 11 months from the time of infection. At the same time, their definition is often not prevented even by taking antibiotics.

When the diagnosis is made, specialists use and accompanying signs in the form of leukocytosis, rash, the appearance of muscle pain, kidney damage, jaundice, enlarged liver, scleritis, acute onset of the disease. Epidemiological analyzes help to make the right decision in determining the diagnosis.

4 Symptoms and treatment

Symptoms and treatment are interrelated. The incubation period lasts 1-2 weeks. There are no precursors of the impending state of infection. Activity of pathology with acute fever, developing rapidly. The patient is noted to lack of appetite, sleep disturbance, chills, the appearance of severe headaches and high fever. An indispensable sign of the disease is general intoxication.

Pathology develops in 2 stages. The first is called leptospiraemia. Common symptoms are observed for one week + 2 days. Chills become recurrent, and laboratory tests confirm the presence of an agent in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid. At this stage, the compulsory symptom is the appearance of muscle pain, which is clearly visible in the palpation of the muscles of the hip, lumbar region, or gastrocnemius muscles. Rare occurs less frequently in patients, but the occurrence of erythematous eczema in patients with leptospirosis is often observed.

In the number of symptoms specialists include ischemia, sensitivity disorders, bradycardia, hemoptysis, diarrhea and cough. But all these signs do not always appear in the presence of pathology.

In the second stage of the disease, the nervous system, kidneys and liver are affected. As a result of toxemia of the internal organs, other diseases, called acute renal failure, jaundice, hemorrhagic syndrome, jaundice, can appear.

Disease is considered dangerous because of active work to provoke the development of concomitant dangerous diseases.

Mortality in the presence of a diagnosis of leptospirosis is recorded in no less than 10% of cases. The effectiveness of treatment depends on the timely treatment of the patient for qualified care and correctly diagnosed.

Antimicrobials play a leading role in the treatment regimen. If penicillin is well tolerated, patients are prescribed drugs based on it. Also high results show derivatives of tetracycline, streptomycin, levomycitin, erythromycin. Quite often, experts recommend that patients include doxycycline in the treatment regimen. In special cases, gamma globulin can be used.

Given that leptospirosis in people is accompanied by a strong increase in body temperature and general intoxication, patients need to provide bed rest and start replenishing the loss of fluid in the body with abundant drinking. Acute renal failure caused by pathology obliges the specialist to prescribe hemodialysis. Doctors say that all drugs help to get rid of the disease in the shortest time only when seeking help within the first 4 days from the time of infection. Otherwise, the patient must be prepared for the fact that the treatment will be lengthy and, possibly, with varying success.

5 Consequences and complications of

disease In case of untimely started or ineffective treatment within a month from the moment of transition of the pathology into an active form, it can cause complications, affecting the eyes. For a patient, dangerous changes take the form of iridocyclitis, irita, uveitis. Among the dangerous complications when exposed to other organs called cerebral edema, pneumonia, various bleeding, renal or hepatic insufficiency.

A favorable prognosis in treatment is only in cases when it is started before complications arise and in the absence of icteric form. The presence of pneumonia, renal or hepatic insufficiency, meningoencephalitis often leads to death.

Among the consequences of the disease are recorded eye diseases, liver and kidney failure, even with a successful disposal of the pathogen. Even after some time after the beginning of treatment, the pathology can provoke paralysis or paresis.

6 Prevention methods

The best way to prevent disease is prevention. All places of possible appearance of the pathogen should be processed for preventive purposes by the employees of veterinary and sanitary services. The list of activities includes the timely detection of sick animals and their immediate treatment. If a diseased animal is found or if a suspected infection is suspected, all animals and people at risk are given a leptospiroznuyu vaccine that prevents the spread of the pathogen. Water from contaminated sources must be excluded from use. Compliance with all safety rules when working with wet land or animals on farms can reduce the risk of infection to zero.