Signs and Symptoms
In humans, Leptospirosis can cause a wide range of symptoms, including:
- High fever
- Headache
- Chills
- Muscle aches
- Vomiting
- Jaundice (yellow skin and eyes)
- Red eyes
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Rash
Many of these symptoms can be mistaken for other diseases. In addition, some infected persons may have no symptoms at all.
The time between a person's exposure to a contaminated source and becoming sick is 2 days to 4 weeks. Illness usually begins abruptly with fever and other symptoms. Leptospirosis may occur in two phases:
- After the first phase (with fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, vomiting, or diarrhea) the patient may recover for a time but become ill again.
- If a second phase occurs, it is more severe; the person may have kidney or liver failure or meningitis. This phase is also called Weil's disease.
The illness lasts from a few days to 3 weeks or longer. Without treatment, recovery may take several months.
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- Page last reviewed: June 9, 2015
- Page last updated: June 17, 2011
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