title: Leptospirosis: experience at a tertiary care hospital in northern India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Leptospirosis is primarily a disease of wild and domestic mammals. Man is infected either directly through contact with an infected animal or indirectly by water or soil contaminated with the urine of an infected animal. We studied the incidence of leptospirosis in patients presenting with an acute febrile illness of more than 7 days to a tertiary care hospital in northern India.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was done over a period of 1 year and included 647 patients who presented with an acute febrile illness for more than 7 days. These patients were screened for leptospirosis using the Dri-Dot test and ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using the Dri-Dot screening test, 244 of 647 patients (37.7%) were positive for leptospirosis. Of these 244 patients, 200 (82%) were positive by ELISA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Leptospirosis is common in northern India and should be considered as a possible differential diagnosis in patients with an acute febrile illness of more than 7 days' duration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab 141008, India. divya.deodhar@yahoo.com
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deodhar
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: John
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology*