Leptospira Chapter 1 Summary

7. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

7.1 The chapter 1 deals with the introduction of zoonotic diseases caused by Leptospira and Brucella and their global incidence. The epidemiology of this organism, the incidence and causes of outbreaks, and the mode of transmission of these infections to human and animals are also explained. . The pathogenic species of Leptospira and Brucella, their pathogenesis and symptoms of the infections in the animals and humans is highlighted. The importance of early detection of this disease so as to enable immediate treatment is iterated as the symptoms are indistinguishable from other diseases. The different methods of diagnostis available for the detection of Leptospira and Brucella and the advantage and disadvantages

It then elaborately introduces Leptospira with definition and the different species caui=sing leoptospirosis. The history of Leptospira and the morphology of the organism is explained in detail. The burden of leptospira and its incidence, and the various outbreaks that have occurred in the world, the burden and out breaks in the different regions of India have been dealt with in detail. The epidemics in India and the seasonal variations of its preveance have also been emphasized. The distribution of the different leptospirosis serovars in India has been mentioned. The epidemiology, causative agents and the mode of transmission have been dealt with in detail. The various high risk groups have been highlighted and the factors that are responsible for the emergence of leptospirosis such as carriers, hosts, reservoirs, atmospheric condition of the surroundings are emphasized. The pathogenesis and the clinical symptoms of leptospira are elaborately narrated. The conventional laboratory diagnosis is mentioned and the various serological methods available are explained in detail. The advantages and the disadvantages of each of the method is also explained. Control and prevention of the disease, vaccination of the animals and treatment are also dealt with in

The introduction of Rose – Bengal test, which is the gold standard test for this kit was highlighted. sLPS was isolated and was partially characterized by SDS-PAGE and silver staining and this was used for the manufacture of ELISA and LFA kit. The prevalence of Brucellosis among the people in close contact such as veterinarians, diary workers, parastaff, shepherds and others were screened and validated with the inhouse ELISA, LFA and STAT and compared with gold standard RBPT. A prevalence of 10.63% of brucellosis was found with RBPT in Telangana and Andhra regions, which was 11.22% with inhouse ELISA kit, 10.12% with LFA and 10.04% with STAT, thereby showing a higher rate of sensitivity woth the inhouse kit. Sensitivity and specificity of the kit was 96.55% ad 98.93% respectively in comparison with 89.66% and 99.43 % of STAT and 90.34% and 99.43% with LFA. Among the staff with occupation involving animals, a prevalence of around 10% was seen among all of them, showing he prevalence in India to be considerably higher when compared to the other developing countries. This is shown to necessitate the early detection of the organisms not only in the humans but also in the animals, so as to facilitate early treatment and quarantine if