WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic bacterial disease found predominantly in impoverished populations inhabiting developing countries with tropical climates. Rodents are the main reservoir of the disease, excreting the bacteria in their urine. Humans are usually infected through contaminated water. Leptospirosis is estimated to cause more than one million severe cases with approximately 60,000 deaths per year. It is an emerging disease due to the growing number of inhabitants residing in urban slums and the increased frequency of extreme climatic events. Leptospirosis also affects animals worldwide, including livestock, and is therefore of economic importance. All control methods for leptospirosis implemented to date have been ineffective. The critical barrier to developing any effective interventions has been the limited understanding of pathogenesis of the disease. The “Biology of Spirochetes” Unit comprises the french National Reference Center for Leptospirosis and the WHO Collaborating Center for Research and Reference on Leptospirosis.