Leptospirosis is a zoonosis occurring worldwide, caused by the pathogenic bacterium Leptospira.

Leptospirosis is one of the top ten infectious hazards reported globally and is transmitted to people and animals through exposure to water and soil contaminated by the urine of infected animals, namely rodents. In 2015, 222 leptospirosis cases, including 626 (51%) confirmed cases, were reported by 29 EU/EEA countries and the notification concerned mainly the severe cases in PH (40%). With global climate change, extreme weather events are expected to occur with increasing frequency and greater intensity and may potentially result in an upsurge in disease incidence as well as the magnitude of leptospirosis outbreaks.

Despite efforts in research, the true spread and increase of leptospirosis remain unknown, as the risk distribution, detection and data accessibility pose serious challenges to epidemic intelligence in Europe.