Epidemiology and Laboratory Diagnosis of Infectious Jaundice (Weil's Disease)

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Abstract
A brief review of the earlier descriptions of infectious jaundice (Weil''s disease), including the various spp. of Leptospira designated as etiological agents in this disease, is given. The means by which dissemination of the infectious agent may occur are discussed, and the possibility of dogs as vectors of the disease and the dissemination of the organism through water by swimming in infected streams or accidental immersion, is emphasized. The incidence of leptospirosis is occupational and is more prevalent among miners, bargemen, garbage workers, abattoir workers, soldiers in the trenches, and rice-field workers. The best single laboratory diagnostic aid is the agglutination-lysis procedure, although maintenance of suitable cultures for antigen evokes some difficulty. Cultivation of Leptospira on artificial media is not easily accomplished. Use of water drained from a clay bank containing large amounts of Ca and soluble Fe, sulfates and chlorides for prepn. of artificial media resulted in an excellent medium for cultivation when the organisms were grown at 30[degree] C. Diagnosis of Weil''s disease will be greatly improved by the utilization of inoculation of young guinea pigs with infected material, the use of dark-ground illumination, and histological studies of tissues.

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