Leptospirosis in Flying Squirrels (2005)

[Joan]

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no07/06-0370.htm

[Joan]

Leptospirosis' bacteria's scientific name is Leptospira interrogans serovar Grippotyphosa

Peeps tragedy: viewtopic.php?f=54&t=6843

Dr. Cooley's response:
The leptospirosis story is quite a tragedy. I have read of major outbreaks of leptospirosis in humans in some Central American countries, likely due to water contamination. In domestic animals, I see leptospirosis as an important abortion disease in cattle and an important cause of recurrent uveitis or moon blindness in horses. I have occasionally seen severe renal disease associated with the serovar grippotyphosa. Likely, some cases of chronic renal disease in dogs are associated with canicola. Other causes for recurrent uveitis in horses exist, although most of those in which we submit ocular fluid for PCR are confirmed as being active infections by Leptospira. I ordinarily would not think about flyers as being commonly infected, since the organism likes wet environments, pools of water, mud and the like, that have been contaminated with urine of some infected animal. Life in the trees likely keeps them away from such threats. In wet type areas, the organism can survive for months in the environment. As testament to just how deviant this bacterium is, it only replicates in a
living animal, not in the environment. The risk to domestic animals seems to be urbanized carrier wildlife such as raccoons, opossums, skunks and rodents. Veterinarians generally recommend medical evaluation of any person who has contacted a known positive animal. Since the organism can pass through mucous membranes of eye, mouth, and nose, it is not an
infection to be taken casually.
I believe that a human case is reported to CDC.