Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Address for correspondence: D. This is a publication of the U. This publication is in the public domain and is therefore without copyright. All text from this work may be reprinted freely. Use of these materials should be properly cited. Leptospirosis is a reemerging infectious disease in California. Leptospirosis is the most widespread zoonosis throughout the world, though it is infrequently diagnosed in the continental United States.
From to , most reported California cases occurred in previously healthy young adult white men after recreational exposures to contaminated freshwater.
We report five recent cases of human leptospirosis acquired in California, including the first documented common-source outbreak of human leptospirosis acquired in this state, and describe the subsequent environmental investigation.
Salient features in the California cases include high fever with uniform renal impairment and mild hepatitis. Because leptospirosis can progress rapidly if untreated, this reemerging infection deserves consideration in febrile patients with a history of recreational freshwater exposure, even in states with a low reported incidence of infection.
Leptospirosis was distinguished and described in the early 18th century by Adolf Weil and several other scientists, although several references to epidemic jaundice and bilious typhoid likely related to leptospirosis appeared in many ancient cultures. Leptospirosis is a reemerging infectious disease, involving both rural and urban cases 2 β 6. Leptospira are transmitted in the urine of chronically infected carrier animals.
