Leptospirosis: a diagnostic conundrum
Leptospirosis is a serious public health concern worldwide. It is highly endemic in the Andaman Islands and its prevalence is increasing in other Indian states. Clinical features are non-specific and diagnosis relies on laboratory confirmation. The gold standard is microscopic agglutination testing,...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Tropical doctor 2018-10, Vol.48 (4), p.306-309 |
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Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | Leptospirosis is a serious public health concern worldwide. It is highly endemic in the Andaman Islands and its prevalence is increasing in other Indian states.
Clinical features are non-specific and diagnosis relies on laboratory confirmation. The gold standard is microscopic agglutination testing, but this is not widely available. Real-time polymerase chain reaction testing of LipL32 antigen provides the earliest detection of pathogenic Leptospira in the body. We found it to be 100% specific, but it should be used in the first 10 days of illness for reliable results. |
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ISSN: | 0049-4755 1758-1133 |
DOI: | 10.1177/0049475518788470 |