Leptospirosis is a bacterial blood infection caused by spirochaetes of the genus Leptospira that can infect humans, dogs, rodents, and many other wild and domesticated animals [3][1]. It is classified as a zoonotic infection prevalent across all continents [1].
Disease overview
BacterialLeptospirosis
钩端螺旋体病
Evidence-backed informationEN 7/7 applicable sections · ZH 7/7 applicable sectionsUpdated Sep 3, 2026
Leptospirosis is a zoonotic bacterial infection caused by pathogenic spirochaetes of the genus Leptospira, prevalent across all continents [1]. It can range from asymptomatic to severe illness, with an estimated one million cases and approximately 60,000 deaths occurring globally each year [1]. The severe form is characterized by icterus and multi-organ dysfunction, potentially leading to death [1][2]. Effective control requires coordinated One Health interventions across human, animal, and environmental health sectors [3].
Read the full clinical and epidemiological profile8
Signs and symptoms range from none or mild (headaches, muscle pains, and fevers) to severe, including bleeding in the lungs and meningitis [3]. Weil's disease, the acute severe form, causes jaundice, kidney failure, and bleeding [3]. The severe form presents with icterus and multi-organ dysfunction that can lead to death [1][2]. More than 10 genetic types of Leptospira cause disease in humans [3].
Leptospirosis is one of the most important zoonotic bacterial diseases worldwide, commonly affecting resource-poor populations and resulting in significant morbidity and mortality [2]. An estimated one million cases occur globally each year, resulting in approximately 60,000 deaths [1]. Environmental factors such as heavy rainfall, flooding, and poor sanitation significantly increase the risk of transmission [3]. Urbanization and inadequate waste management promote rodent population growth, which act as primary reservoirs [3]. Climate change is associated with higher incidence [3].
The bacteria are spread to humans through animal urine or feces, or water or soil contaminated with animal urine and feces, entering through the eyes, mouth, or nose, or breaks in the skin [3]. Transmission commonly occurs through water contaminated with urine from infected animals such as rodents and livestock [3]. Both wild and domestic animals can spread the disease, most commonly rodents [3].
In developing countries, the disease occurs most commonly among pest control workers, farmers, and low-income people living in areas with poor sanitation [3][2]. In developed countries, it occurs during heavy downpours and poses a risk to pest controllers, sewage workers, and those involved in outdoor activities in warm and wet areas [3]. The disease commonly affects resource-poor populations [2].
Prevention includes improving housing, infrastructure, and sanitation standards, as well as rodent abatement efforts and flood mitigation projects [3]. Proper use of personal protective equipment by people with high occupational exposure risk can prevent infections in most cases [3]. The antibiotic doxycycline is effective in preventing leptospirosis infection [3]. Very few countries have licensed human vaccines, which only protect against rodent-associated serogroups and have limited protective effects [1][3]. Exposure control through behavioral modifications and personal protective measures are the major preventative measures, as the efficacy of prophylactic antibiotics has not been confirmed in clinical trials [1].
Public health strategies include surveillance systems to monitor outbreaks, particularly in regions prone to flooding and poor sanitation [3]. Early diagnosis and improved laboratory capacity are essential for timely case identification and response [3].
- 1Rajapakse S et al. Leptospirosis. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2025 May 2. PMID: 40316520. doi: 10.1038/s41572-025-00614-5.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40316520/
- 2Rajapakse S et al. Leptospirosis: clinical aspects. Clin Med (Lond). 2022 Jan. PMID: 35078790. doi: 10.7861/clinmed.2021-0784.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35078790/
- 3Wikipedia contributors. Leptospirosis - Wikipedia [Internet]. Wikipedia. cited 3 Sept 2026.Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptospirosis
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Coverage
Reporting countries and regions
AustraliaAU
AustriaAT
BelgiumBE
BrazilBR
BulgariaBG
ChinaCN
CroatiaHR
CyprusCY
CzechiaCZ
DenmarkDK
EstoniaEE
FinlandFI
FranceFR
GermanyDE
GreeceGR
Hong Kong, ChinaHK
HungaryHU
IcelandIS
IrelandIE
ItalyIT
JapanJP
LatviaLV
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LuxembourgLU
MaltaMT
NetherlandsNL
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NorwayNO
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PortugalPT
RomaniaRO
SingaporeSG
SlovakiaSK
SloveniaSI
South KoreaKR
SpainES
SwedenSE
Taiwan, ChinaTW
United KingdomGB
United StatesUS
Trends by reporting country
Monthly patterns over time
Research Radar
Recent related research
Mathematical Model and Analysis of Leptospirosis Transmission Dynamics in Human and Dog Populations.
International Journal of Development Mathematics (IJDM)
Epidemiological characteristics of leptospirosis and serological surveillance among reservoir animals and healthy populations in Fujian, China, 2004–2024
Frontiers in Public Health
Leptospirosis/Weil's Disease: Pathogenesis, Epidemiology, Bio-Screening, Next-Generation Interventions Powered by AI, ML, Modeling, 3d Fingerprinting, Cover Etiology, Treatment Horizons, Fungal, Mosquito and Airborne Infection
Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Integrated Medical Sciences
Spatiotemporal patterns and climate influences on leptospirosis in Sri Lanka from 2009 to 2024
BMC Infectious Diseases
Leptospirosis in Campinas, Brazil: The interplay between drainage, impermeable areas, and social vulnerability
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Showing 5 of 18 related publications.
Literature links are provided for discovery and do not alter or validate the surveillance series above.
Data access
Page dataset index with source links and update metadata.
Official sourcesAuthority, cadence, notes96
Austria AGES Radar for Infectious Diseases
Austria
AGES Radar monthly national source. Internal ingestion retains native categories; public release is disabled pending licence review.
Australia NINDSS
Australia
Australian national notifiable diseases surveillance dashboard.
Australia NINDSS — Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Australian Capital Territory, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
Australia NINDSS — Northern Territory
Northern Territory, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Northern Territory, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
Australia NINDSS — Queensland
Queensland, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Queensland, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
Australia NINDSS — South Australia
South Australia, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for South Australia, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
Australia NINDSS — Tasmania
Tasmania, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Tasmania, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
Australia NINDSS — Victoria
Victoria, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Victoria, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
Australia NINDSS — Western Australia
Western Australia, Australia
Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Western Australia, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Belgium Annual Baseline
Belgium
Belgium annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Bulgaria Annual Baseline
Bulgaria
Bulgaria annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Brazil DATASUS SINAN
Brazil
Brazil Ministry of Health DATASUS/SINAN public DBC microdata aggregated to national monthly notification counts.
China CDC Weekly
China
Monthly notifiable infectious disease reports published by China CDC.
National Disease Control and Prevention Administration
China
Official China public health bulletin and query portal.
PubMed
China
Biomedical literature discovery feed used as supplementary context.
Public Health Science Data Center
Anhui, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Anhui, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Chongqing, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Chongqing, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Fujian, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Fujian, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Guangdong, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Guangdong, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Gansu, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Gansu, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Guangxi, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Guangxi, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Guizhou, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Guizhou, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Henan, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Henan, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Hubei, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Hubei, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Hebei, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Hebei, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Hainan, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Hainan, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Hunan, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Hunan, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Jiangsu, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Jiangsu, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Jiangxi, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Jiangxi, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Inner Mongolia, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Inner Mongolia, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Sichuan, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Sichuan, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Shandong, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Shandong, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Shanghai, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Shanghai, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Xinjiang, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Xinjiang, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Yunnan, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Yunnan, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
Public Health Science Data Center
Zhejiang, China
Chinese province-level historical monthly observations; this higher-priority source overlays overlapping official monthly reports.
Provincial statutory infectious disease monthly report
Zhejiang, China
Province-level statutory infectious disease report published by the responsible health authority.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Cyprus Annual Baseline
Cyprus
Cyprus annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Czechia Annual Baseline
Czechia
Czechia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Germany RKI SurvStat 2.0
Germany
RKI SurvStat national weekly notification export; raw ZIP exports are retained and recent weeks are overwritten for revisions.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Denmark Annual Baseline
Denmark
Denmark annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Estonia Annual Baseline
Estonia
Estonia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Spain Annual Baseline
Spain
Spain annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Finland THL Infectious Diseases Register
Finland
Finland THL Infectious Diseases Register national monthly case counts. The current month is ingested as provisional and the latest three months are refreshed for source revisions.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — France Annual Baseline
France
France annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — United Kingdom Annual Baseline
United Kingdom
United Kingdom annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Greece Annual Baseline
Greece
Greece annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Hong Kong, China CHP Notifiable Diseases
Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong, China CHP annual notifiable infectious disease CSVs normalized to national monthly totals
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Croatia Annual Baseline
Croatia
Croatia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Hungary Annual Baseline
Hungary
Hungary annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Ireland HPSC Notifiable Diseases Hub
Ireland
Ireland HPSC national weekly notifiable-disease totals from the official ArcGIS FeatureServer. Internal ingestion is enabled; public release remains disabled pending written redistribution permission.
Iceland Directorate of Health Annual Dashboard
Iceland
National annual case notifications by disease. Published values can be revised retrospectively and remain annual period totals.
Iceland Directorate of Health STI Dashboard
Iceland
Monthly STI diagnosis facts from laboratory and registry surveillance; the official dashboard is published on a quarterly schedule.
Iceland Directorate of Health Respiratory Dashboard
Iceland
ISO-week respiratory diagnosis counts. Hospitalizations, samples, and vaccination indicators are separate measures and are not counted as diagnoses.
Iceland Directorate of Health Historical Registry
Iceland
Historical official registry tables for 1997–2021, with annual totals and disease-specific monthly notification facts retained at source grain.
Iceland Directorate of Health Legacy ICD Monthly
Iceland
Historical Saga EHR ICD encounter counts for 1997–2020. This clinical measure is non-comparable with registry notifications and is kept separate.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Italy Annual Baseline
Italy
Italy annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
JP NIID Weekly
Japan
Japan weekly infectious disease surveillance via NIID/JIHS.
Korea KDCA EID
South Korea
Korea KDCA notifiable infectious disease OpenAPI or portal/KOSIS downloads aggregated to national monthly notification counts.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Lithuania Annual Baseline
Lithuania
Lithuania annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Luxembourg Annual Baseline
Luxembourg
Luxembourg annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Latvia Annual Baseline
Latvia
Latvia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Malta Annual Baseline
Malta
Malta annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Netherlands Annual Baseline
Netherlands
Netherlands annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Norway FHI MSIS Statistics Bank
Norway
Norway FHI MSIS national monthly notifications from the official Allvis frontend API; adapter contract checks guard the unversioned endpoint.
New Zealand PHF Science Monthly Notifiable Diseases
New Zealand
PHF Science (formerly ESR) monthly notifiable disease surveillance data via internal globalID2 crawler
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Poland Annual Baseline
Poland
Poland annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Portugal Annual Baseline
Portugal
Portugal annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Romania Annual Baseline
Romania
Romania annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Sweden Public Health Agency SmiNet
Sweden
Sweden SmiNet national monthly reported cases from the official Public Health Agency statistics pages; public release is enabled with closed-month publication and revisable recent-month refreshes.
Singapore CDA Weekly Infectious Diseases Bulletin
Singapore
Singapore national weekly case notifications, combining the official data.gov.sg 2012–2022 CSV history with CDA annual workbooks from 2023 onward; 2023 weekly PDFs are retained as a source fallback.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Slovenia Annual Baseline
Slovenia
Slovenia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
ECDC Surveillance Atlas — Slovakia Annual Baseline
Slovakia
Slovakia annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.
Taiwan, China CDC NIDSS
Taiwan, China
Taiwan, China monthly notifiable infectious disease open-data CSV feed.
US CDC NNDSS
United States
CDC National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System provisional data.
US CDC NHSS HIV
United States
CDC NNDSS weekly data plus NHSS annual national HIV diagnoses