Cluster of Leptospirosis Acquired Through River Surfing in Switzerland

Abstract

Acquisition of leptospirosis during recreational activities also occurs in resource rich countries and might be even more common than occupational acquisition; diagnosis seems to be frequently missed due to the disease's multifaceted clinical presentation and insufficient awareness of caregivers.

Fatal leptospirosis in free-ranging Eurasian beavers (Castor fiberL.), Switzerland

“…There was also a marked geographic overlap between the distribution of dog and beaver cases (Major et al., ). Additionally, human cases were recorded in people surfing on a river close to the Aare River in 2014 (Figure ; Schreiber et al., ). These observations suggested an epidemiologic link between dogs, beavers and human cases.…”

“…These observations suggested an epidemiologic link between dogs, beavers and human cases. However, the serovars Australis and Bratislava were most commonly found in dogs (Major et al., ), and the serovar Grippotyphosa was detected in the human cases (Schreiber et al., ). Beavers were infected with different strains of the serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae or Copenhageni, which indicates that the cases were not related to each other.…”

“…Symbols represent the profile of Leptospira interrogans identified. The asterisk shows the location of a cluster of leptospirosis in humans (Schreiber et al., ). The numbers refer to the years when the affected beavers were found…”

“…Nevertheless, concern about the re-emergence of this disease is growing. In humans, leptospirosis is mainly considered to be a tropical disease relevant for tourists, long-term travellers and migrants (Utzinger et al, 2012); however, endemic cases also occur and are likely underdiagnosed (Schreiber et al, 2015). In farm animals, seroprevalence was estimated to be 19% in cattle from 1986 through 1996 (H€ assig & Lubsen, 1998) and 58.8% in horses in 2011 (Blatti, Overesch, Gerber, Frey, & H€ ussy, 2011).…”

Serological detection of anti-leptospiral antibodies in outdoor cats in Switzerland

“…Leptospirosis is endemic in Switzerland causing acute systemic disease in dogs ( Major, Schweighauser, & Francey, 2014 ), beavers ( Marreros et al., 2018 ) and sporadically humans ( Schreiber et al., 2015 ) and abortion in livestock ( Schnydrig et al., 2017 , Vidal et al., 2015 ). In Swiss dogs, a dramatic increase in the incidence of acute leptospirosis was documented between 2003 and 2012 ( Major et al., 2014 ).…”