Treatment of Leptospirosis

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Leptospirosis is treated with antibiotics such as penicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline, and erythromycin. Treatment with these drugs is effective if given within four to seven days of the onset of the illness. For this reason, the diagnosis may often have to be made on the history and clinical signs.

Once organ damage has occurred, antibiotics are less effective and may even be undesirable. They may cause a severe reaction due to the release of toxic substances from the killed or dying bacteria. This is called a Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction and it features fever, chills, headache and muscle pain.