Leptospira – dawn of the molecular genetics era
The first modern clinical description of leptospirosis was published by Weil in 1886, hence leptospirosis is frequently known as Weil’s disease. Over the past decade, outbreaks during sporting events, adventure tourism and disasters have underscored its ability to become a public health problem in non-traditional settings. However, leptospirosis is a neglected disease that places its greatest burden on impoverished populations from developing countries and tropical regions. In addition to being an endemic disease of subsistence farmers, leptospirosis has emerged as a widespread problem in urban slums, where inadequate sanitation has produced the conditions for rat-borne transmission. More than 500,000 cases of severe leptospirosis are reported each year, with case fatality rates exceeding 10%.
Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease, transmitted from rats to humans via rodent urine, that has emerged as an important cause of morbidity and mortality among impoverished populations. One hundred years after the discovery of the causative spirochaetal agent, little is understood about Leptospira pathogenesis, which in turn has hampered the development of new intervention strategies to address this neglected disease. However, the recent availability of complete genome sequences for Leptospira spp. and the discovery of genetic tools for their transformation have led to important insights into the biology of these pathogens and their pathogenesis. This review discusses the life cycle of the bacterium, recent advances in understanding and the implications for the future prevention of leptospirosis.
Leptospira: the dawn of the molecular genetics era for an emerging zoonotic pathogen. 2009 Nature Reviews Microbiology 7: 736-747 doi:10.1038/nrmicro2208
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Tags: Agriculture, Bacteria, Biology, disease, Emerging disease, Environment, Health, History, Medicine, Microbiology, Science
