Description: A conservatively-estimated one million people contract leptospirosis annually. Of these, more than 60,000 will die. These minimum estimates will rise in coming years as we achieve better measurements of disease burden due to improved diagnostics and better global estimates. The economic cost of human leptospirosis is likely more than $30 billion annually, with an untold economic loss of even greater magnitude, predominantly in low- and middle-income countries where the impact of leptospirosis is the greatest. Climate change, with increased temperatures and flooding throughout the world, will inevitably further expand the human and economic cost of leptospirosis. Although the routes of transmission are known, it is not fully understood how the disease manifests, and how our immune system protects us from infection. With this knowledge, better diagnostics and treatments could be developed. Addressing this is Professor Joseph Vinetz of Yale University, USA, and collaborators in Peru and Sri Lanka. The researchers focus on bacteria genomics in a mission to translate basic science into diagnostics tests and treatments. Their recent breakthrough brings us a step closer to vaccine development.
