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Glite Dictionary
🦠 Related to bacteria 🦠 A type of bacteria
leptospiral

leptospiral

9.9
A bacterium called Leptospira that can make people or animals sick
  • noun
  • /ˌlɛp.təˈspaɪ.rəl/
  • Specialized
: leptospira
  • Veterinarians are concerned about the rise in cases ofleptospiral infections in the local wildlife population.

Examples

  • Leptospirosis is a serious disease caused by aleptospiral bacterium that can infect both humans and animals.

  • Scientists isolated a leptospiral from the water sample near the cattle farm.

  • The disease was traced back to a leptospiral found in contaminated soil.

  • Veterinarians are trained to recognize symptoms caused by a leptospiral infection in animals.

  • The leptospiral infection can be serious if not treated promptly.

  • Veterinarians often test for leptospiral bacteria in livestock.

  • Recent studies have identified severalleptospiral strains that pose a significant risk to livestock health.

Surface Forms

leptospiral singular
leptospirals plural

Morphology

leptospiral = Leptospira (semi-transparent) = leptospira + al

The word is clearly built from the genus name Leptospira plus the adjectival suffix -al, but the meaning is specialized scientific terminology rather than a fully general everyday derivation.

Etymology

A leptospiral gets its name from Greek parts leptos 'thin' and spira 'coil', like the English word spiral, because it is a long, thin bacterium shaped like a tiny spiral.