PREFACE -- INTRODUCTION -- I. MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY -- II. CLINICAL FEATURES AND TREATMENT -- III. LABORATORY SUPPORT -- IV. ANIMAL SOURCES OF INFECTION -- V. TYPING -- VI. TRANSMISSION AND EXPOSURE -- VII. PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION -- VIII. DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES, SURVEILLANCE AND OUTBREAK MANAGEMENT -- ANNEX 1 ADDRESSES OF EXPERT CENTRES AND THE INTERNATIONAL LEPTOSPIROSIS SOCIETY (ILS) -- ANNEX 2 RISK FACTORS AND RISK GROUPS -- ANNEX 3 CONTROL OF LEPTOSPIROSIS -- ANNEX 4 SURVEILLANCE -- ANNEX 5 CLINICAL FEATURES AND DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF LEPTOSPIROSIS
ANNEX 6 MICROSCOPY AND STAINING -- ANNEX 7 PATHOGENIC VERSUS SAPROPHYTIC LEPTOSPIRES -- ANNEX 8 SEROTYPING AND PREPARATION OF RABBIT ANTISERUM -- ANNEX 9 DNA-BASED CLASSIFICATION -- ANNEX 10 SEROLOGICAL TECHNIQUES (MAT AND ELISA) -- ANNEX 11 SEROLOGICAL TECHNIQUES OTHER THAN MAT AND ELISA -- ANNEX 12 ISOLATION AND CULTURE OF LEPTOSPIRES -- ANNEX 13 ISOLATION OF LEPTOSPIRES USING EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS -- ANNEX 14 POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR) -- ANNEX 15 COMMERCIAL TESTS, CULTURE MEDIA, SERA, MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES AND LEPTOSPIRA STRAINS -- ANNEX 16 PREPARATION OF CULTURE MEDIA
ANNEX 17 SAFETY IN THE LABORATORY -- GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY -- LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
Summary
Leptospirosis is a potentially serious but treatable zoonotic disease representing a worldwide public health hazard. Its symptoms may mimic those of a number of other unrelated infections such as influenza meningitis hepatitis dengue or viral haemorrhagic fevers. It is important to distinguish leptospirosis from these diseases. For this reason new diagnostic methods have been developed in recent years. In humid tropical and subtropical areas where most developing countries are located leptospirosis poses a greater health problem than in areas with a temperate climate. Because leptospirosis is
