For those with signs of inflammation of membranes covering the brain and the brain itself, altered level of consciousness can happen. A variety of neurological problems such as paralysis of half of the body, complete inflammation of a whole horizontal section of spinal cord, and muscle weakness due to immune damage of the nerves supplying the muscles are the complications. Signs of bleeding such as non-traumatic bruises at 1 mm (0.039 in), non-traumatic bruises more than 1 cm (0.39 in), nose bleeding, blackish stools due to bleeding in the stomach, vomiting blood and bleeding from the lungs can also be found. Prolongation of prothrombin time in coagulation testing is associated with severe bleeding manifestation. However, low platelet count is not associated with severe bleeding. Pulmonary haemorrhage is alveolar haemorrhage (bleeding into the alveoli of the lungs) leading to massive coughing up of blood, and causing acute respiratory distress syndrome, where the risk of death is more than 50%. Rarely, inflammation of the heart muscles, inflammation of membranes covering the heart, abnormalities in the hearts natural pacemaker and abnormal heart rhythms may occur. Cause
Bacteria
Leptospirosis is caused by spirochaete bacteria that belong to the genus Leptospira, which are aerobic, right-handed helical, and 6–20 micrometers long. Like Gram-negative bacteria, Leptospira have an outer membrane studded with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the surface, an inner membrane and a layer of peptidoglycan cell wall. However, unlike Gram-negative bacteria, the peptidoglycan layer in Leptospira lies closer to the inner than the outer membrane.
The endothelial cells produce cytokines and antimicrobial peptides against the bacteria. These products regulate the coagulation cascade and movements of white blood cells. Macrophages presented in humans are able to engulf Leptospira. However, Leptospira are able to reside and proliferate in the cytoplasmic matrix after being ingested by macrophages. Those with severe leptospirosis can experience a high level of cytokines such as interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin 10. The high level of cytokines causes sepsis-like symptoms which is life-threatening instead of helping to fight against the infection. Those who have a high risk of sepsis during a leptospirosis infection are found to have the HLA-DQ6 genotype, possibly due to superantigen activation, which damages bodily organs.Leptospira LPS only activates toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) in monocytes in humans. The lipid A molecule of the bacteria is not recognised by human TLR4 receptors. Therefore, the lack of Leptospira recognition by TLR4 receptors probably contributes to the leptospirosis disease process in humans.Although there are various mechanisms in the human body to fight against the bacteria, Leptospira is well adapted to such an inflammatory condition created by it. In the bloodstream, it can activate host plasminogen to become plasmin that breaks down extracellular matrix, degrades fibrin clots and complemental proteins (C3b and C5) to avoid opsonisation. It can also recruit complement regulators such as Factor H, C4b-binding protein, factor H-like binding protein, and vitronectin to prevent the activation of membrane attack complex on its surface. It also secretes proteases to degrade complement proteins such as C3.