Fatal Rodentborne Leptospirosis in Prison Inmates, South Africa, 2015

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonotic disease. In 2015, leptospirosis was diagnosed in 2 prison inmates in South Africa. Using real-time PCR and DNA sequencing, we identified Leptospira interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae in rodents and water samples within the prison. Leptospirosis might be frequently underdiagnosed in South Africa.

Keywords

• Zoonoses
• invasive hosts
• molecular epidemiology
• public health
• outbreak
• prison