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| | |pagetitle =Leptospiraceae | | |pagetitle =Leptospiraceae |
| − | |pagebody = | + | |pagebody =''Leptospiraceae'' is a family of [[Spirochaetes species - Overview|''spirochaetes'']]. It includes the genus ''Leptospira'' which causes Leptospirosis in all animals. |
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| − | ===''Leptospira''===
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| − | *Motile, helical bacteria found in aquatic environments
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| − | *Require liquid media for culture
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| − | *Cause leptospirosis in all animals, which can range from mild urogenital tract infections to systemic diseases
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| − | *Organisms persist in kidney tubules or genital tract of carrier animals and are shed in urine
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| − | *Transmission via direct contact
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| − | *Serovars are fairly host-specific, causing mild disease in the maintenance host, with shedding in the urine
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| − | *Maintenance hosts may transmit the infection to incidental hosts, which are less susceptible to infection, but develop serious disease
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| − | * May cause severe systemic disease, resulting in [[Intestines Fibrinous/Haemorrhagic Enteritis - Pathology#Bacterial septicaemia and enteritis|enteritis]]
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| − | *Pathogenesis and pathogenicity
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| − | **Depends on virulence of the serovar and susceptibility of the host
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| − | **Leptospires invade tissues through moist skin or via mucous membranes, aided by their motility
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| − | **Leptospires may invade via receptor-mediated endocytosis
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| − | **They disseminate through the body via the blood stream
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| − | **Antibodies clear organisms from the blood stream after about 10 days of infection
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| − | **Organisms may persist in the renal tubules, uterus, eye or meninges
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| − | **Evade phagocytosis possibly via macrophage apoptosis
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| − | **Damage red blood cell membranes and endothelial and liver cells, leading to haemolytic anaemia, jaundice, [[Pigmentation and Calcification - Pathology#Haemoglobin|haemoglobin pigmentation]], haemoglobinuria and haemorrhage in acute leptospirosis
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| − | *Diagnosis
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| − | **Clinical signs and history of exposure
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| − | **Dark-field microscopy of urine may detect organisms
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| − | **Isolation from blood or urine by culture or animal inoculation
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| − | **Identificaiton or certain serovars using DNA probes and serology
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| − | **FLuorescent antibody technique for identification in tissues
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| − | **Silver impregnation
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| − | **Molecular techniques such as PCR
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| − | **Serology using microscopic agglutination test or ELISA
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| | [[Category:Spirochaetes]] | | [[Category:Spirochaetes]] |