Severe course of rat bite-associated Weil's disease in a patient diagnosed with a new Leptospira-specific real-time quantitative LUX-PCR.
Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease with global distribution, caused by spirochaetes of the genus Leptospira. Transmission of Leptospira interrogans serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae, the causative agent of Weil's disease, to humans usually results from exposure to the urine of infected, but mostly asymptomatic, rodents, either by direct contact or indirectly through contaminated soil or water. Although regarded as a re-emerging infectious disease, human leptospirosis is probably underdiagnosed due to its often unspecific clinical appearance and difficulties in culturing leptospires. Therefore, more rapid and specific diagnostic procedures are needed. Here we describe a novel real-time quantitative PCR system developed for the accurate and fast diagnosis of pathogenic Leptospira spp. Its usefulness in the management of a patient with rat bite-associated multiorgan failure is demonstrated.
Roczek
Alexandra
A
Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Veterinärstraße 2, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany.
Forster
Christian
C
Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Medizinische Klinik 4, Krankenhausstraße 12, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
Raschel
Heribert
H
Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Veterinärstraße 2, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany.
Hörmansdorfer
Stefan
S
Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Veterinärstraße 2, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany.
Bogner
Karl-Heinz
KH
Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Veterinärstraße 2, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany.
Hafner-Marx
Angela
A
Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Veterinärstraße 2, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany.
Lepper
Hans
H
Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Veterinärstraße 2, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany.
Dobler
Gerhard
G
Institute of Microbiology of the Bundeswehr, Neuherbergstraße 11, 80937 München, Germany.
Büttner
Mathias
M
Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Veterinärstraße 2, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany.
Sing
Andreas
A
Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Veterinärstraße 2, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany.
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000150:complications*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D041383:Leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D051381:Rats; D014895:Weil Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy; D015047:Zoonoses
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial