Mild, self-resolving acute leptospirosis in an HIV-infected patient in the Peruvian Amazon

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2005 Jul;73(1):67-8.

Abstract

We report a case of acute, self-resolving leptospirosis presenting in a HIV-positive patient from the Peruvian Amazon. The patient presented with an undifferentiated acute febrile illness that resolved without treatment, diagnosed retrospectively as leptospirosis by serology and real-time polymerase chain reaction. Five months later, he was admitted because of a febrile illness with jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, peripheral edema, and oral candidiasis. Because of the clinical suspicion of AIDS, stored sera of the previous admission were tested, and HIV seropositivity was confirmed, proving that the condition was present at the first admission. Acute leptospirosis in HIV coinfection is not inevitably severe, and there is probably a wide variation in clinical manifestations similar to what occurs in immuno-competent hosts.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • HIV Antibodies / blood
  • HIV Infections / microbiology*
  • HIV-1 / immunology
  • Humans
  • Leptospirosis / complications
  • Leptospirosis / diagnosis*
  • Male
  • Peru

Substances

  • HIV Antibodies