Leptospirosis in rural Ghana: Part 2, Current leptospirosis

In this second part of our study a search for cases of acute leptospirosis among hospital patients is described. Of 88 suspected cases of acute leptospirosis, four were confirmed serologically. Of 102 patients with jaundice occurring in a period in which maximal transmission of leptospires could be expected, current leptospirosis was confirmed in one and suspected in another patient. The high prevalence of antibodies against leptospires of different serogroups, described in the first part of the study, is in contrast with the low frequency of acute leptospirosis among hospital patients in the same area. This indicates that most cases of acute leptospirosis do not have a reason for seeking hospital care. A new serovar was isolated, for which the name agogo, reference strain Agogo, serogroup Djasiman, is proposed.