Our goal: The aim of this project is to understand historical and contemporary prevalence of leptospirosis in Hawaiʻi's feral swine (puaʻa). The USDA National Feral Swine Program funded-project will perform diagnostics studies in feral swine form across the Hawaiian Islands to assess their role in human leptospirosis. 

What is it?

Leptospirosis is a disease caused by spirochete bacteria of the Leptospira genus. People can get fevers and severe complications. The disease is rarely fatal but is highly under-reported due to the wide range of symptoms.

Where does it come from? 

The Leptospira bacteria are chronically shed in the urine of animal hosts like rats and swine. This urine contaminates water sources where humans are often infected through mucous membranes or cuts in the skin.