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 Spirochaetales 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: | 2020-10-28 |
News |
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New families introduced within the order Enterobacterales![]() The order Enterobacterales (formerly called Enterobacteriales) previously consisted of bacteria with different properties and phylogenetically, these bacteria were far apart. In order for the taxonomy to be more in line with phylogeny, some of these bacteria have, therefore, been sorted into 6 new families. Published 2022-04-13. Read more... |