New Delhi: Leptospirosis is an extremely rare bacterial disease that spreads to humans via the urine of infected animals like dogs, and rats, said an expert on Saturday, after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was diagnosed with the condition.

Speaking to IANS, Dr M Wali, Senior Consultant, Department of Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said leptospirosis derived its name from leptospira -- spiral bacteria (spirochaete) from the family of Leptospiraceae. 

“It is a spiral bacteria, like a spring, and this is usually a disease of animals like dogs, mostly rats and some farm animals, in pigs and also in zebra, horses,” Wali said.

The doctor explained that this spreads via contamination or through direct contact with loosely available food items or water infected with rat urine.

“In very rare cases, it can also spread via unprotected sexual intercourse, especially by anal sex,” Wali said.

The disease causes “very high temperature, headache, muscular pains, muscular pains, vomiting, diarrhoea,”

It also has eye involvement, sometimes with yellow patches or brown patches, depending upon the complexion, and pain in the abdomen.

How serious is the disease?

Wali said that leptospirosis is usually self-limiting, and can resolve within two weeks with antibiotics. 

“But if the infection is severe, then it can spread to the kidney, can go to the brain, spinal cord, liver.”

While the liver is mainly involved, in rare cases it can spread to the lungs.

Importantly, the expert noted that the disease is difficult to diagnose and can thus remain in the body for some months.

“Patients can go from one doctor to another doctor, as the fever may not be treated because it is not diagnosed”.

The doctor may suspect and conduct a simple PCR test to diagnose the disease. It can be well contained by antibiotic doxycycline, said Wali.

The disease can turn fatal if it enters the brain,” Wali said while noting that it “does not spread from human to human, only by contamination”.

“People must not consume loosely available food items from Kirana stores, only packaged and properly sealed food. Rat-infested loosely available groceries must be avoided,” Wali advised.

Leptospirosis is endemic to India due to a tropical climate that complements the transmission of infection. 

Scientists believe that the first disease outbreak in the 1920s came from the Andaman Islands.

It is one of the most widespread yet neglected zoonoses, with most reports from South America, the Caribbean, and South Asia.

In India, it is endemic to coastal states like Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Despite causing significant mortality in India, the disease remained highly under-reported, majorly because of its endemic nature, lack of diagnostic modules, and lack of awareness among the treating clinicians. There is also a paucity of literature available on the burden of the disease.

To tackle the information gap, the government I. 2015 launched the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Leptospirosis (NPPCL) in the endemic states.

(IANS)