Update to leptospirosis surveillance

Posted 6 days ago by Patrick Hipgrave Less than a minute to read

We've just updated our 'leptospirosis notifications' surveillance report. Leptospirosis is a serious bacterial infection, often associated with areas affected by extreme rainfall and floods.

Here are the key facts:

There were 164 notifications of leptospirosis recorded in 2023, the most cases recorded in over 20 years, resulting in a rate of 2.8 notifications per 100,000 people.
Three in four (73.9%) notifications in 2023 were for people working in high-risk occupations involving contact with animals, such as farmers or meat workers.
In 2023, Hawke’s Bay and Waikato health districts had the highest number of leptospirosis notifications (38 and 30 notifications respectively). These may reflect increased exposure to contaminated waters and soils due to Cyclone Gabrielle (ESR ref).
Residents of rural areas had a notification rate 40 times higher than people living in major urban areas in the four years from 2020–23.
The leptospirosis notification rate is highest among people aged 45–64 years and has also increased among older adults (aged 65+ years) over time.

Web link: https://ehinz.ac.nz/assets/Surveillance-reports/Released_2025/Lepto_2025final.pdf

Dashboard: https://dashboards.instantatlas.com/viewer/report?appid=52b591ee74c04f0ead4297876b7b5266