An outbreak of leptospirosis imported from Germany to Poland.

BACKGROUND: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by spirochetes of the Leptospiraceae family. In both humans and animals the main route of infection is indirect contact - through water or other products contaminated with urine containing spirochetes. Infection most commonly occurs through ingestion of water or food contaminated with Leptospira spp.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to characterize cases of leptospirosis imported to Poland from Germany in 2014 and to analyze methods that are helpful for making a diagnosis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The 10 patients examined were reported as suspected leptospirosis cases on the basis of clinical symptoms and epidemiological investigations. They originated from different regions of Poland and had been working together at a strawberry plantation in the Cloppenburg district of Lower Saxony in Germany. Blood and urine samples were tested by PCR and serum samples by serology. All ELISA positive and negative cases were examined using a reference microscopic agglutination test (MAT).

RESULTS: In the tested group, 6 individuals (60%) were seropositive according to the ELISA, and 2 of them were confirmed by the MAT. The PCR results for the blood and urine samples were negative.

CONCLUSIONS: Using the ELISA in the diagnosis of leptospirosis allowed the disease to be identified much faster, differentiating classes of antibodies and recognizing levels of them that are too low to be detectable by the MAT.