Bacterial Disease Likely Cause Of Deaths

A dangerous bacterial disease called leptospirosis seems to be what killed at least 16 people and sickened 2,000 others in rural parts of Nicaragua, experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

Leptospirosis “is often misdiagnosed as meningitis or encephalitis,” said Robert Howard, a biologist at the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta.

Leptospirosis, Howard added, “is a horrible illness with quick onset of fever, chills, very severe muscle and bone aches, dizziness, shortness of breath and coughing.” Fortunately, leptospirosis is treatable with antibiotics.