Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease associated with wild and domestic animals.
It causes severe systemic symptoms including jaundice. Leptospirosis is primarily an occupational disease that affects farmers, sewer workers or others whose occupation involves contact with animals, especially rats. Leptospirosis is spread mainly by the urine of infected animals and is generally not transmitted from person to person. The symptoms of leptospirosis are fever, headache, chills, vomiting, jaundice, anemia and sometimes rash. People with leptospirosis are usually quite ill and are often hospitalized.