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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Polymerase Chain Reaction and Dot-Blot Hybridization for Leptospira Detection in Water Samples
Published on: June 14, 2024
Leptospirosis following a flood in the Veneto area, North-east Italy
P Pellizzer1, A Todescato, P Benedetti
1Unità Operativa di Malattie Infettive e Tropicali, Ospedale San Bortolo, Vicenza.
Abstract:
In August 2002, an exceptional flood devastated a suburban area in the surroundings of Vicenza, North-east Italy. A fatal case of haemorrhagic pneumonia, which was presumptively diagnosed as leptospirosis, was observed as a consequence of the inundation. A local seroepidemiological survey was activated thereafter, with the principal aim of evaluating the risk of infection with Leptospirae in the population exposed to the flood. A 6.8% seroconversion rate was found in the population studied; however, the case previously observed remained unique, since an overt outbreak of leptospirosis did not occur.
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