Leptospirosis in Tropical Regions of Southeast Mexico: A Clinical Case Series Review

The objective of our review was to describe the clinical manifestations ofLeptospira strains present in Southeastern Mexico, and identify distinguishing characteristics from other endemic regions.Recent FindingsWe performed a review of state-reported cases from two large hospitals in Southeastern Mexico, an area suspected to have the highest incidence of the infection. Of 98 state-reported probable cases of leptospirosis, a total of 19 cases were confirmed serologically and further described here in an effort to highlight examples of reported cases to increased physician awareness. Patients had an average age of 40  years old, and were mostly female. World Health Organization-based classification according to the clinical expression, showed 12 cases with flu-like disease, 3 Weil’s syndrome, 3 with pulmonary hemorrhage/failure, and 1 with meningitis/meningoencephalitis. The average length of stay in hospital since the onset of symptoms to diagnosis varied according to the clinical presentation: 2.5 days for the flu-like syndrome, 3.3 days for Weil’s, 4 days for CNS involvement, and 16.5 days for pulmonary disease. Regardless of the category, renal and hepatic involvement was very frequent, even i n patients with mild disease.SummaryLeptospirosis in Southeastern Mexico is likely underreported, with the true disease burden being largely unknown. In this population, the most common presentation was a mild disease with good response to antibiotics. Patients with more seve...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research