Leptospirosis
Alternative Names
Weil disease; Icterohemorrhagic fever; Swineherd's disease; Rice-field fever; Cane-cutter fever; Swamp fever; Mud fever; Hemorrhagic jaundice; Stuttgart disease; Canicola feverSymptoms
- Incubation period of 2 - 26 days (average 10 days)
- Abrupt onset of fever, rigors, myalgias, and headache in 75 - 100% of patients
- Dry cough (25 - 35% of cases)
- Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea (50% of cases)
- Less common symptoms include joint aches, bone pain, sore throat, and abdominal pain
- Conjunctivitis
- Approximately 7 - 40% of patients may have muscle tenderness, an enlarged spleen or liver, enlarged lymph glands, sore throat, muscle rigidity, abnormal lung sounds, or skin rash
Exams and Tests
Diagnosis is most frequently done by testing the blood for antibodies to the bacteria.
Other tests may be done:
- A white blood cell count generally shows less than 10,000 white blood cells.
- Urinalysis is usually abnormal.
- Higher-than-normal creatine kinase is found in approximately 50% of patients.
- About 40% of patients have a slight to moderate increase in liver enzymes.
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