SYDNEY, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The growing number of storms and floods linked to climate change is driving up the risk of leptospirosis, a serious human infection, new research warned Monday.
The research, led by Australia's University of New England (UNE), recommended concerted testing of the public for the zoonotic infection leptospirosis, greater vigilance in regions well beyond the tropical north, and further urgent research, said a UNE statement.
No human vaccine exists for leptospirosis, a bacterial disease surging globally with floods and warm weather, it said, adding that outbreaks are intensifying worldwide, with evolving Leptospira subtypes.
Agricultural workers, vets, carcass handlers, and freshwater recreationists face the highest risk, warned the authors of the study, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.
Lead author Associate Prof. Jacqueline Epps, a rural general practitioner from UNE's School of Rural Medicine, noted outbreaks are emerging across Australia, linked to increased rainfall, storms, flooding and warmer temperatures, and were previously rare outside the state of Queensland's high-case zones.
"The bacteria found in the feces and urine of carriers survive longer in the soil and mud in more humid and warm conditions. Floods are thought to wash the infectious pathogens long distances and to contaminate water sources," Epps said.
Leptospirosis symptoms resemble flu or COVID-19, leaving many cases undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, the researchers said, adding that accurate early diagnosis prevents symptom worsening, which can lead to intensive care for organ failure, meningitis, or death in 10 percent of severe cases. ■
