Leptospirosis in a subsistence farming community in Brazil

Received 9 March 2008; received in revised form 15 May 2008; accepted 15 May 2008.

Summary

Leptospirosis has been reported in rural areas of Brazil. However, there is limited information about the exposure risk or the risk of Leptospira infection for rural-based populations. A cross-sectional study was carried out in order to determine the prevalence and risk factors for prior Leptospira infection in a rural subsistence farming region of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, an area in which outbreaks of leptospirosis have occurred. Among 290 individuals enrolled, 44 (15.2%) had anti-Leptospira IgM antibodies as determined by IgM ELISA. Infection tended to occur with activities related to the rice fields (P=0.08). Our findings indicate that Leptospira infection occurs even in years of low rainfall, and may have an important impact among poor rural-based subsistence farmers in Brazil. Additional studies are needed to characterize the mode of transmission in this region.

Keywords: Leptospirosis, Disease outbreaks, Surveillance, Prevalence, Rural population, Brazil

a Department of Infectious Diseases, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, CP 1624, Natal, RN, 59078-970, Brazil

b Department of Biochemistry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, CP 1624, Natal, RN, 59078-970, Brazil

c Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, CP 1624, Natal, RN, 59078-970, Brazil

d Gonçalo Moniz Research Center, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation/Brazilian Minister of Health, Salvador, BA, Brazil

e Division of International Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Weil Medical College of Cornell University, New York, USA

Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 84 3215 3428; fax: +55 84 3215 3428.

PII: S0035-9203(08)00227-7

doi:10.1016/j.trstmh.2008.05.010

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