Which disease may present with Weil's disease, featuring high fever, jaundice, aseptic meningitis, and possible kidney failure, and is spread from rodent urine into water or food?

Which disease may present with Weil's disease, featuring high fever, jaundice, aseptic meningitis, and possible kidney failure, and is spread from rodent urine into water or food?

• A. Leptospirosis
• B. Meningitis
• C. Dermatitis
• D. Ray fungus

Answer: (A)

Leptospirosis is the disease described. Weil’s disease is the severe form of this infection, caused by the bacterium Leptospira interrogans. It’s a zoonosis that people can catch when water or food is contaminated with urine from infected rodents, especially rats. The illness can start with high fever and may progress to jaundice from liver involvement and kidney failure from kidney involvement, and it can include aseptic meningitis as well. That combination of a rodent-urine–driven route and the specific signs of Weil’s disease makes leptospirosis the best answer. The other options don’t fit the scenario. Meningitis is a syndrome that can have many causes, not a disease tied to rodent-urine contamination. Dermatitis is a skin condition, not a leptospiral infection. Ray fungus (a historical term for a dermatophyte) is a fungal infection of the skin, not related to Weil’s disease.

Leptospirosis is the disease described. Weil’s disease is the severe form of this infection, caused by the bacterium Leptospira interrogans. It’s a zoonosis that people can catch when water or food is contaminated with urine from infected rodents, especially rats. The illness can start with high fever and may progress to jaundice from liver involvement and kidney failure from kidney involvement, and it can include aseptic meningitis as well. That combination of a rodent-urine–driven route and the specific signs of Weil’s disease makes leptospirosis the best answer.

The other options don’t fit the scenario. Meningitis is a syndrome that can have many causes, not a disease tied to rodent-urine contamination. Dermatitis is a skin condition, not a leptospiral infection. Ray fungus (a historical term for a dermatophyte) is a fungal infection of the skin, not related to Weil’s disease.