This article will discuss a disease that affects the human liver. The problems associated with this body can be conditionally divided into two groups. The first is characterized by the occurrence of ailments due to malnutrition, as well as due to excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. And the second - destroys the liver due to infectious diseases. If we talk about the latter, then they are of the viral and bacterial type. Given that many liver diseases present with the same symptoms, making a correct diagnosis can be difficult.
The disease leptospirosis is considered one of the most severe. She is difficult to treat. This article will discuss what the causative agent of the infection is, as well as how the disease manifests itself. Find out the causes, stages of the disease, full symptoms. It is important to understand whether there is a treatment, how the diagnosis is carried out. The complications and consequences that non-compliance with medical measures can lead to will be described. Let's also talk a little about the leptospirosis vaccine.
Descriptionexciter
The disease leptospirosis is considered an infectious disease, the causative agent of which is able to multiply only in certain animals. Foci of inflammation, as a rule, are found in almost all places, and at different times of the year. Only cold places should be called an exception.
The causative agent of leptospirosis is a bacterium that belongs to the class of spirochetes. This organism loves the aquatic environment, so people and animals most often suffer from the disease. The bacterium has a large number of small curls. It grows very slowly in artificial conditions, so it is difficult to make a correct diagnosis at the initial stage. The problem can only be detected a week after infection.
The causative agent of leptospirosis is able to survive in almost many conditions. Bacteria are not affected by low temperature, ultraviolet, acids, alkalis, disinfectants. Organisms can live in soil for at least 3 months, and in water for at least 3 weeks. Getting into a person, leptospira attach to blood vessels and blood cells, starting to damage them. At the same time, bacteria secrete endotoxin. It affects all body systems, disrupting their functionality.
Causes of disease
The causative agent of leptospirosis, as a rule, infects wild and domestic animals, respectively, they infect the soil and water. The main carriers should be noted rodents, however, there are other animals that also succumb to this infection.
We are talking about rats, voles, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, marmots,pigs, dogs and horses, as well as cattle.
The causative agent of leptospirosis is transmitted by the alimentary route. Consider how the disease passes to a person. This happens when eating infected animals, when absorbing water while bathing, and also during contact with those objects that have bacterial seeds.
It is impossible to get infected from another person. The infection is transmitted only from animals. Adults and teenagers are most often affected. This disease is characterized by a certain seasonality, most often the disease occurs in the summer-autumn period. After the infection is eliminated, a person develops strong immunity. However, this does not mean that he will not be able to contract this disease anymore. This is because leptospirosis causes more than 19 types of bacteria.
Stages of disease progression
Most often, infection occurs through contact with water. If the skin is damaged, then the causative agent of leptospirosis taxonomy and other bacteria enter the wound and further into the body. In this case, visible skin lesions do not occur. The main changes can be seen only when examining organs and vessels.
The disease proceeds in five phases. First, the pathogen enters the liver, spleen and lungs. Further, the first clinical signs appear, and the pathogen spreads throughout the body. By the third week of illness, the most pronounced symptoms appear. Vessels become brittle and easily rupture with any damage.
The fourth stage is often accompanied by attenuation of symptoms. endsillness in the fifth week. This period is the most dangerous, because with improper treatment or non-compliance with medical standards, relapses and complications can occur.
The disease cannot be considered dangerous in terms of its consequences, but during the epidemic, the mortality rate reached 30%. When a person has an infection phase, the manifestation is minimal or completely absent. However, the changes are already visible. As a rule, this phase lasts up to a month, but in many patients - no more than 2 weeks. Sometimes additional stages are also distinguished, for example, the initial one, in which a person has a severe course of the disease for about a week. During the peak stage, severe organ damage appears, and then the symptoms subside or complete recovery occurs. Each period lasts about a week if it is a mild flow.
Symptomatics
As mentioned earlier, in the first week of illness, general symptoms are minimal or completely absent. Suspicion of the development of this disease can only be caused by contact with an animal that is sick or by swimming in the reservoir where the outbreak was detected.
Consider the symptoms in the initial period. The temperature can rise sharply up to 40 degrees. The fever usually does not last more than 7 days. A person has a headache and weakness of the body. There may also be severe abdominal pain, which is quite painful on palpation. A psychological factor is also triggered: during the course of the disease,a person may appear too strong irritability and excitability. His face begins to turn red, his eyes turn red, and other infections may appear against the background of a decrease in immunity. Children often have rashes on the lips, as well as on the mucous membranes. A person develops a rash 2 days after the onset of infection. Bruising may occur on the knees and elbows. Diagnosis of this disease is based on a general analysis of blood and urine, as well as on checking the cerebrospinal fluid: does it contain leptospira. Bronchitis, sputum, which is excreted along with the blood, can also develop, and on examination, the liver and spleen often become noticeably enlarged.
Symptoms during the height of illness
Already in the second week of the course of the disease, most patients often begin its peak, in which all organs and systems suffer. First of all, there is a problem with the nervous system, kidneys and liver. General symptoms begin to subside, but the damage to the internal organs becomes more and more serious. The liver begins to inflame by the end of the first week or by the beginning of the second. The skin becomes yellow, rash and itching occur. The kidneys begin to work poorly, the amount of urine excreted is reduced to almost zero. The analysis can detect protein, as well as an increased level of leukocytes. The disease also leaves an imprint on the vascular system, arrhythmia may appear, and the pressure rises or falls. Often there is hemorrhage in the skin or in the internal organs. It should be noted that atthe infectious disease leptospirosis does not cause loose stools, even with the fact that the liver tissue periodically becomes inflamed.
In the next period, the disease begins to recede and the functions of the organs are restored. However, a third of patients may experience a relapse, in which the symptoms return. Jaundice in this case, as a rule, does not occur, and organ damage is almost minimal. The disease lasts in the normal phase no more than 4 weeks, but if there are relapses, then it can be delayed up to 3 months.
Complications
If you ignore the symptoms and treatment of leptospirosis, severe complications and consequences can occur. It should also be noted that even with timely diagnosis and treatment, it is often almost impossible to predict the possible consequences. However, you can consider all the consequences that can result in leptospirosis. Can relapse. In 3% of cases, a fatal outcome occurs, liver failure, various disorders of the kidneys, or kidney failure may develop. Muscle paralysis, bleeding, shock, vision and hearing problems, pneumonia, stomatitis are also possible complications.
Diagnosis of disease
Initially, when checking for leptospirosis, 2 general tests are taken: blood and urine. However, thanks to them, it is possible to establish the presence of any inflammation in the body, as well as problems with the functioning of the kidneys. At the very beginning of the disease, leptospira can be detected using a method called"crushed drop". During the acute phase, the pathogen can be detected in almost all fluids secreted naturally in the body.
In the second period, serological methods are used. Differential diagnosis of this disease is carried out if there is also viral hepatitis, malaria and some other problems.
Treatment of disease
Therapy is carried out only in a stationary mode. Given that the infection is quite severe, it is undesirable to be at home with it. The doctor will monitor the amount of urine excreted, so most often they prescribe water-s alt solutions that will restore balance in the body. Some antibiotics are also prescribed for this disease. Which drug will be prescribed depends entirely on the stage of the disease. The morphology of the causative agent of leptospirosis is described above. There are up to 19 different types of them, so it will be difficult to choose a treatment. There is a symptomatic course. If a person has serious disorders of the organs and systems of the body, then they will be eliminated first of all. If we talk about specific drugs, then we are talking about serum against leptospirosis. It has the greatest effect only in the initial stage of the disease.
Disease prevention
When carrying out preventive measures, sick animals, as well as carriers of the infection, are treated. Carry out special sanitary and educational work in those places where there are frequentdisease outbreaks. Animals that can contract this disease can be injected with a special serum. It will prevent the development of infection. So you can protect yourself from the symptoms of leptospirosis in humans. The reasons are easier to destroy in order to prevent the development of the problem. Also, to preventive measures, it should be noted the wearing of special means that allow you to protect yourself when working with various farm animals.
Vaccination
The most effective way to prevent disease is vaccination. However, doctors protect only certain categories of citizens from infections. Among them, veterinarians and livestock breeders should be singled out, who can become infected from a sick animal. Meat-packing plant workers, vacuum cleaners, as well as people who work in laboratories are at risk of infection.
Using a vaccine against this disease
In order to avoid the treatment and symptoms of leptospirosis, it is necessary to vaccinate. It is done on the basis of indications, the minimum age is 7 years. If the animal world has a huge number of ways to protect itself from infections, then this choice is small for a person. A special inactivated vaccine is used. In other words, these are killed strains of microorganisms that can protect a person without causing the infection itself.
The vaccine is injected under the shoulder blade at a dosage of 0.5 ml. Immunization is done once, but if a person is at risk, then it is done annually. The vaccine cannot cause leptospirosis, but such casesthere are. Most often they occur due to the fact that a person has an allergy to drugs. Sometimes there may be swelling and soreness. Children under seven years of age, pregnant, breastfeeding and people who have problems with the nervous system are not allowed to do this procedure.
Vaccination and treatment of animals
The causative agent of leptospirosis affects animals quite often, so one of the important preventive measures will be their vaccination. How exactly it should be carried out depends entirely on the conditions in which the animal was acquired. If the owner can be convinced that the animal is free of infection (purchased from a cattery or breeder), then a standard procedure is done. If the animal was picked up on the street or bought from the hands, then passive immunization should be carried out. To do this, hyperimmune serum should be used before the vaccine. Those people who have pets are at risk. Most often, it is the dog or cat that is infected. They become infected by contact with water where the bacteria are present. A person later catches the disease if there is a skin lesion and there was contact with water, where there is saliva or urine of the animal.
Mice and rats can also cause disease. In microbiology, a lot of interesting facts have been written about the causative agent of leptospirosis: they can affect any organisms. Most often, the infection occurs after the bite of the latter. Its source can be food, which has got saliva or other secretions.infected dog, cat. If any domestic animals prey on rats, then there is also a possibility of disease. That is why it is necessary to carry out the fight against rodents. It is necessary to clean the attic, the utility room and the basement. Garbage must be taken out in a timely manner. All cracks and openings through which animals can enter the premises should be sealed.
Results
Almost everyone can get leptospirosis. The causative agent is found in the environment and can be carried by domestic and wild animals that people come into contact with. It is difficult to make a diagnosis on your own, but you can follow preventive measures that will protect you from the disease. And then, it should be noted that the resistance of the causative agent of leptospirosis to sera is often strong. Also, if any symptoms occur, you should immediately consult a doctor in order to start treatment on time and minimize the consequences.
