Emerging Infectious Diseases (Mar 2008)
Leptospirosis-associated Severe Pulmonary Hemorrhagic Syndrome, Salvador, Brazil
Abstract
We report the emergence of leptospirosis-associated severe pulmonary hemorrhagic syndrome (SPHS) in slum communities in Salvador, Brazil. Although active surveillance did not identify SPHS before 2003, 47 cases were identified from 2003 through 2005; the case-fatality rate was 74%. By 2005, SPHS caused 55% of the deaths due to leptospirosis.
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