Correlation between renal distribution of leptospires during the acute phase and chronic renal dysfunction in a hamster model of infection with Leptospira interrogans.

Subcutaneous infection with pathogenic leptospires could cause acute death or chronic leptospirosis in hamsters after surviving the acute phase. We suggest that the renal distribution of leptospires during the acute phase probably affected the extent of tubular atrophy, leading to CKD.