| Species/Subspecies: | Leptospira interrogans | ||||||||
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| Categories: | Zoonotic; motile; notifiable diseases and bacteria | ||||||||
| Etymology: | Genus name: thin helix (coil). Species epithet: interrogation (refers to the shape resembling a question mark). | ||||||||
| Significance: | Leptospirosis is said to be the most wide spread zoonotic infection in Nature. [Important] |
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| Taxonomy: | Class Spirochaetia Order Leptospirales Family Leptospiraceae Genus Leptospira |
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| Type Strain: | Serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae, RGA = ATCC 23581. | ||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell): | |||||||||
| Micromorphology: | "Sewing thread thin" (0.1 x 6-12 µm), helical and with a hook on each end. Motile and has two periplasmic flagella. | ||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G- | ||||||||
| Metabolism: | Aerobic | ||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | +/+ | ||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates: | Does not ferment karbohydrates. | ||||||||
| Spec. Char.: | Generation time: 6-8 h. Optimal growth temperature: 28-30°C. | ||||||||
| Disease: | Leptospirosis, which is a zoonosis. |
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| Hosts: | Dog, cattle and pig etc. as well as humans. | ||||||||
| Clinical Picture: | Fever, renal and hepatic insufficiency as well as pulmonary manifestations and reproductive failure. | ||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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About 25 different species have been described within the genus Leptispira. L. interrogans is closely related to L. kirschneri. See the phylogenetic tree (Fig. 116:1). | ||||||||
| Legislation: | Leptospirosis is notifyable in Sweden | ||||||||
| Comment: | There are 23 different serogroups, which in turn are divided into about 250 different serovars. Icterohaemorrhagiae and Bratislava are important serovars. From a clinical point of view, the serovar is more important than the species as pathogenicity is associated with serovar, rather than species and different species may belong to the same serovar. | ||||||||
| Reference(s): | No. 6, 36, 41, 109, 139 | ||||||||
| Link: | The Leptospirosis Information Center | ||||||||
| Updated: | 2023-03-08 |