File:Liver of an unknown animal infected with leptospirosis.png

The liver depicted here was extracted from an unknown animal at the deceased’s necropsy. The animal was a victim of the zoonotic infection leptospirosis, which is a bacterial infection caused by the spirochetal bacteria of the genus, <i>Leptospira</i>.

The bacteria that cause leptospirosis are spread through the urine of infected animals, which can get into water or soil and can survive there for weeks to months. Many different kinds of wild and domestic animals carry the bacterium.<p>In humans, it can cause a wide range of symptoms, some of which may be mistaken for other diseases. Some infected persons, however, may have no symptoms at all.<p>Without treatment, Leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.