Leptospirosis symptoms include fever, severe and persistent headache, chills and rigors, muscular pains, eye irritation and photophobia, nausea – with or without vomiting, appetite loss, sweating, and jaundice.
Leptospirosis is transmitted from animal to human. The disease is easy to catch from an infected animal whether on a farm or at a meat processing plant.
People usually catch leptospirosis when they are exposed to the urine of animals infected by the leptospirosis bacteria.
Transmission can occur from even a small splash of urine or indirect contact with water contaminated with urine - for example water used to clean down a cowshed.
The infection most commonly enters through cuts, breaks or cracks in the skin, but it can also be ingested – for example by people putting their hands to their mouth. People can even be infected by wiping their mouth on a towel previously used to dry hands following the “cleaning out” of a cow after calving.
Working with contaminated soil in a garden or on a farm is another possible means of transmission.
When you know how leptospirosis is transmitted, there are many actions that can be taken to minimise the likelihood of catching it:
- Careful personal hygiene
- Avoiding contact with animal urine through –
- using personal protective equipment
- using barriers and splash guards
- safe methods of working like - -
- knowing the correct work methods (e.g how to remove kidneys in a meat plant)
- taking care to avoid creating splashes of urine
- when to wash the hands
- Knowing the symptoms of Leptospirosis
If you suspect you have Leptospirosis you should inform your doctor that you are at risk through your work (if that is the case). The Department has posted advice to doctors about treatment for Leptospirosis.
More information on this subject can be found in the Department of Labour publication 'The control of occupationally acquired leptospirosis'.
