Leptospirosis in piggery workers [15]

Abstract

IT is generally believed that human cases of the type of leptospirosis known as canicola fever arise through man's contact with infected dogs, the dog being the only natural host and carrier of the infecting organism, Leptospira canicola. The infection in the dog may lead to a clinically recognizable disease with acute renal symptoms leading to the death of the animal ; but a milder condition may occur and may escape detection. All degrees of infection give rise to the carrier state, which may persist for months or even years, during which time the leptospiras are expelled in the urine, which thereby constitutes a potential source of infection to other dogs and man. © 1956 Nature Publishing Group.