Synonyms.—Epidemic jaundice. Spirochaetosis icterohaemorrhagica. Typhus bilieux. Weil’s disease.
History and Geographical Distribution
Fig. 47. Fig. 48.
Fig. 47.—Showing Leptospira. (After Noguchi in Journal of Experimental Medicine.)
Fig. 48.—A group of Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae from a culture. (After Noguchi in Journal of Experimental Medicine.)
History.—This disease was probably the form of jaundice noted in the forces of Napoleon during the Egyptian campaign. It was first recognized as a distinct disease by Weil, in 1886, who described it as a peculiar form of acute infectious disease characterized by jaundice, swelling of spleen and nephritis. Inada and his Japanese colleagues discovered the causative spirochaete in 1915 and noted the frequency of this parasite in rats. Infectious jaundice was an important disease of the soldiers of the recent war.
Geographical Distribution.—Japan and Egypt may be considered as the parts of the world in which the disease is most common. It is endemic in West Africa and cases have frequently been reported from the shores of the Mediterranean.
During the Russo-Turkish war (1877) cases of jaundice seen in the Balkans by Sandwith were probably infectious jaundice as the disease was frequently noted in that region during the recent war. Cases were noted in Flanders during the war. A few cases have been reported from the United States.