Leptospirosis

Kidney tissue, using a silver stainingtechnique, revealing the presence ofLeptospira bacteria

Leptospirosis

               Leptospirosis is a bacterial urinary infection in rats. Though more common in wild rats, it is highly contagious and quickly transmitted to any pet rat that comes in contact with urine from an infected animal. Leptospirosis can be transmitted to humans (zoonotic) or other animals. It is therefore recommended that a rat or rat colony infected with the disease be euthanized.

The disease was first described by Adolf Weil in 1886 when he reported an "acute infectious disease with enlargement of spleen, jaundice and nephritis".Leptospira was first observed in 1907 from a post mortem renal tissue slice. In 1908, Inada and Ito first identified it as the causative organism and in 1916 noted its presence in rats.

Though recognised among the world's most common diseases transmitted to people from animals, leptospirosis is nonetheless a relatively rare bacterial infection in humans. 

The infection is commonly transmitted to humans by allowing water that has been contaminated by animal urine to come in contact with unhealed breaks in the skin, the eyes, or with the mucous membranes. Outside of tropical areas, leptospirosis cases have a relatively distinct seasonality with most of them occurring August–September/February–March.