Leptospira

[‚lep·tə′spī·rə]

(microbiology)

A genus of bacteria in the family Spirochaetaceae; thin, helical cells with bent or hooked ends.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Leptospira

a genus of microorganisms of the family Treponemataceae; the causative agent of leptospirosis.

There are two species of Leptospira: L. interrogans (parasitic) and L. biflexa (saprophytic). Leptospira have a thin axial filament surrounded by a cytoplasmatic spiral serving as the organ of locomotion (4–8 microns [μ] long, sometimes to 20 μ; 0.10–0.25 μ wide). Pathogenic leptospira die quickly upon exposure to sunlight, high temperature, acids, alkalis, and disinfectants.

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References in periodicals archive

Reports of leptospirosis-associated, immune-mediated manifestations ranging from mononeuritis and Guillain-Barrelike syndromes to postinfectious autoimmune epilepsy (3,15) raise the question of whether Leptospira infections might precipitate or aggravate autoimmunity.

Severe Myasthenic Manifestation of Leptospirosis Associated with New Sequence Type of Leptospira interrogans

Although, not as prevalent as PCV2 and PPV, we observed that 22% of samples were positive for Leptospira spp.

High prevalence of porcine circovirus 2, porcine parvovirus, and pathogenic leptospires in mummified swine fetuses in Southern Brazil/Alta prevalencia de parvovirus suino, circovirus suino 2 e leptospiras patogenicas em fetos suinos mumificados na regiao Sul do Brasil

Aseptic meningitis caused by Leptospira spp diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction.

Clinical Outcome of Leptospirosis: A Fatal Case Report

Several studies have found it to be 100 percent sensitive and specific to Leptospira antibodies, which can confirm the diagnosis of leptospirosis, and the results are on a par with the sophisticated laboratory testing procedures.

Leptospirosis: The flood-borne legacy

Several recent studies have examined the demographic profile of seropositive dogs for Leptospira spp., but results are ambiguous (29).

Sociodemographic and environmental analysis for the occurrence of anti-Leptospira antibodies in dogs of Teresina, Piaui, Brazil

Isolation of Leptospira was performed using 5-fluorouracil-containing Ellinghausen-McCullough-Johnson-Harris (EMJH) medium (Becton, Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey) with 5% rabbit serum (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, Waltham, Massachusetts).

Surveillance for Scrub Typhus, Rickettsial Diseases, and Leptospirosis in US and Multinational Military Training Exercise Cobra Gold Sites in Thailand

In recent years, with the advent of next-generation sequencing techniques, several pan-genomic studies have been conducted for the Leptospira genus.

Genomic Variability among Field Isolates and Laboratory-Adapted Strains of Leptospira borgpetersenii Serovar Hardjo

Leptospira species are prevalent among Louisiana wildlife.

Postflooding Leptospirosis--Louisiana, 2016