Infection By Deadly Bacterium Can Be Prevented With Proper Sanitation

Link: Global Risk - Infection By Deadly Bacterium Can Be Prevented With Proper Sanitation.

As urban sprawl spreads throughout the globe, so do poor urban ghettos and the infectious diseases that are perpetrated by unsanitary slum conditions. Weill Cornell researchers stationed in the urban slums of Salvador, Brazil, have discovered that certain unhealthy living conditions lead to transmission of leptospirosis, a life-threatening disease caused by the bacterium Leptospira. Over a half-million people are infected, killing 1 in 10, each year. The disease, which is characterized by fever, abdominal pain, and can lead to severe pulmonary bleeding, kidney damage and meningitis, is transmitted through animal contact (commonly rat urine).

Dr. Albert Ko, senior author of the study and physician-scientist from the Division of International Medicine and Infectious Disease at Weill Cornell Medical College, and his research team stationed at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation/Brazilian Ministry of Health in the city of Salvador, tested a group of 3,171 slum residents for Leptospira antibodies - a marker of past infection with the bacterium.