European health officials have reviewed Latvia’s response to a leptospirosis outbreak that saw 69 cases reported in 2025, after numbers peaked in early autumn at around 20 times the country’s usual annual average.
The After Action Review took place in Riga on 19 – 20 March 2026 and was carried out by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) with Latvian national authorities and the EU Health Task Force, ECDC announced on Tuesday.
Leptospirosis is a disease caused by bacteria that can spread between animals and humans, with infection sometimes linked to contact with contaminated water or soil.
The review examined how Latvia’s outbreak response was managed, including what worked well and where gaps were identified.
Participants included epidemiologists, public health professionals, microbiologists, surveillance experts and others involved in the response, as well as staff working on preparedness planning, coordination and crisis communication during public health events.
Wet summer and flooding preceded the spike
The peak of the outbreak was detected between September and November 2025, during a year when Latvia recorded 69 cases overall, ECDC said.
The number of reported cases during the peak was about 20 times higher than Latvia’s usual annual average of 0 – 6 cases.
Latvia also experienced an unusually wet summer in 2025, with severe flooding affecting agricultural areas between May and June.
Those conditions were likely linked to the outbreak by supporting the bacteria’s survival in the environment and increasing the risk of transmission from rodents to humans.
