''Leptospira wolffii'' is a

gram negative The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...

aerobic Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen. Aerobic may also refer to * Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity * Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise * Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cellu ...

bacterium in the

spirochaete A spirochaete () or spirochete is a member of the phylum Spirochaetota (), (synonym Spirochaetes) which contains distinctive diderm (double-membrane) gram-negative bacteria, most of which have long, helically coiled (corkscrew-shaped or s ...

phylum. The species named after Dutch bacteriologist Jan Willem Wolff.

Description

As with other species in the phylum, ''L. wolffii'' has a spiral shape and uses its

endoflagella A spirochaete () or spirochete is a member of the phylum Spirochaetota (), (synonym Spirochaetes) which contains distinctive diderm (double-membrane) gram-negative bacteria, most of which have long, helically coiled (corkscrew-shaped or s ...

for movement. Within the genus of ''

Leptospira ''Leptospira'' ( grc, leptos, italics=yes, 'fine, thin' and la, spira, links=no, 'coil') is a genus of spirochaete bacteria, including a small number of pathogenic and saprophytic species. ''Leptospira'' was first observed in 1907 in kidney t ...

'', ''L. wolffii'' falls within the intermediate or opportunistic pathogen clade. The microbe is 10-13 μM long and 0.2 μM wide, making difficult to see unless using

dark-field microscopy Dark-field microscopy (also called dark-ground microscopy) describes microscopy methods, in both light and electron microscopy, which exclude the unscattered beam from the image. As a result, the field around the specimen (i.e., where there is ...

, so genetic analysis is a common means of identification.

Pathogeny

''Leptospira wolffii'' was first identified in Thailand from a patient's urine sample, who had contracted

leptospirosis Leptospirosis is a blood infection caused by the bacteria ''Leptospira''. Signs and symptoms can range from none to mild (headaches, muscle pains, and fevers) to severe ( bleeding in the lungs or meningitis). Weil's disease, the acute, severe ...

in 2008. ''L.wolffii'' is classified as an intermediate ''Leptospira'', along with '' L. inadai'', '' L. fainei'', '' L. broomii'', and '' L. licerasiae'', meaning it can be carried by a host asymptomatically or cause the disease leptospirosis. When causing illness ''L. wolffii,'' like pathogenic ''Leptospira'', can infect a host and spread to various organs including the kidneys where the microbe is shed in the urine. In turn, ''L. wolffii'' spreads to other hosts coming into contact with infected urine or contaminated water or soil. Cases of leptospirosis have been caused by ''L. wolffii'' have been identified in Central, Southeast, and East Asia carried by humans, dogs, sheep, and other mammals. Since ''Leptospira'' can infect a variety of hosts between species it is a problematic anthropozoonotic disease.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q47174672 wolffii