U.S.: Doctoral Student from Ecuador making progress in detecting leptospirosis

news.nau.edu / Veronica Barragan, a doctoral student from Ecuador studying leptospirosis–a prevalent disease in her home country and an emerging one here in the United States–has made some strides in understanding the potentially deadly disease.

The Northern Arizona University biology researcher discovered ways to detect the pathogen that is now used to understand how it is being passed from animals to humans. The disease, also called “lepto,” is primarily spread by animal urine. When passed to humans, it can develop into kidney damage, liver failure, and in rare cases, death.

Barragan has been busy gathering and testing sources in a rural coastal community in Ecuador in hopes of learning more about transmission of the disease. Read Article

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