Isolation and characterization of Leptospira interrogans from two patients with leptospirosis in Western Province, Sri Lanka

Leptospirosis is an endemic infectious disease causing considerable morbidity and mortality in Sri Lanka; however, reports on the isolation of Leptospira from infected patients in Sri Lanka have been largely unavailable since the 1970s. Two isolates were obtained and characterized from 100 blood cultures from leptospirosis-suspected patients. Phylogenic analysis of partial flaB gene sequences identified the isolates as Leptospira interrogans. The patient serum samples from which Leptospira was isolated reacted with the Leptospira serogroups Sejroe and Canicola at a titre of 1 : 200. Exposure to domestic sewage and gutters filled with muddy water was suspected to be the source of infection in these two culture-positive patients. This study reports the successful isolation of pathogenic Leptospira from two patients in Western Province, Sri Lanka.