Leptospirosis remains a One Health surveillance gap in China

Leptospirosis remains a One Health surveillance gap in China, review finds

A new systematic review and meta-analysis in Preventive Veterinary Medicine brings fresh attention to leptospirosis at the human-canine interface in China, concluding that the disease still represents a substantial zoonotic burden with moderate pooled prevalence in both species and marked geographic heterogeneity. The study synthesized evidence from six international and Chinese databases through November 11, 2025, with the stated goal of informing surveillance and prevention planning through a One Health lens. (sciencedirect.com)

That framing matters because the headline human case counts in China can make leptospirosis look like a fading threat. National surveillance data published in 2024 showed 4,559 reported human cases from 2010 through 2022, with annual reports falling from 679 cases in 2010 to 158 in 2018. But the same analysis found the disease remained concentrated in southern China, peaked seasonally from August through October, and continued to surface in provinces where reporting had previously been minimal, including Henan and Shaanxi. A 2025 analysis of zoonotic disease trends extended that picture through 2023 and found human leptospirosis incidence had declined overall since 2010, but with a modest rebound in reported cases by 2023. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

The new review appears designed to answer a more practical question for veterinary and public health teams: where are the persistent reservoirs and exposure pathways that routine human case reporting may miss? According to the article abstract, the authors focused specifically on pathogenic Leptospira infection in humans and dogs in China, excluding work centered on other animal hosts. The paper also highlights the role that free-roaming and stray dog populations may play in maintaining and transmitting zoonotic pathogens in both urban and rural communities. (sciencedirect.com)

That broader ecology is consistent with other recent literature from China. A 2024 systematic review and spatial modeling analysis of small mammals identified low elevation, rodent reservoir distribution, and land-use patterns as important correlates of human leptospirosis risk. Another recent study of dogs in the Yangtze River region described leptospirosis as a re-emerging zoonosis in rapidly urbanizing settings and pointed to commercially available canine vaccines already in use in China. Together, those studies reinforce the idea that canine infection should be read not only as a clinical problem, but also as a signal of environmental and community-level exposure. (sciencedirect.com)

Direct outside commentary on this specific paper was limited in the sources available, but the broader expert consensus is clear. CDC guidance says dogs are at higher risk of infection when they are exposed to rodents or contaminated environments, and notes added risk in shared dog settings such as parks, boarding, or training facilities. CDC also states that people can be infected through contact with urine from infected animals or contaminated water and soil, underscoring why leptospirosis is usually handled as a shared veterinary-public health issue rather than a species-specific one. (cdc.gov)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the review supports a more deliberate surveillance mindset. In practice, that means considering leptospirosis when dogs present with acute kidney injury, hepatic involvement, fever, or nonspecific systemic illness, especially in regions and seasons associated with higher exposure risk. It also means using canine cases as an opportunity to assess household and occupational exposure, counsel pet parents on hygiene and environmental risk reduction, and revisit vaccination protocols based on local epidemiology rather than assuming risk is negligible because human case counts are low. The China data suggest that even with long-term declines in reported human incidence, transmission risk remains unevenly distributed and capable of resurfacing. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

There’s also a systems-level implication. Because the new paper synthesizes evidence across both people and dogs, it may help close a familiar gap between human infectious disease reporting and companion animal surveillance. For veterinary teams, that kind of integrated evidence can strengthen conversations with regulators, local public health agencies, and industry groups about diagnostic capacity, reporting expectations, vaccination uptake, and targeted prevention in high-risk settings. That is especially relevant in areas where urbanization, flooding, rodent exposure, or free-roaming dog populations may shift risk faster than passive surveillance can detect. This is partly an inference from the combined literature, but it is well supported by the paper’s One Health framing and the underlying human surveillance trends. (sciencedirect.com)

What to watch: The next step is the paper’s real-world uptake: whether Chinese veterinary and public health stakeholders use its subgroup findings to refine regional surveillance, vaccination strategy, and cross-sector reporting, particularly in southern provinces and other areas showing renewed human case activity. (sciencedirect.com)