Clinical characteristics and risk factors of human leptospirosis in Argentina (1999-2005)

Submitted by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio ([email protected]) on 2015-11-12T11:49:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Vanasco N Clinical characteristics and risk....pdf: 244738 bytes, checksum: c222162978cf0b6a2679cce149ed1100 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio ([email protected]) on 2015-11-12T12:05:28Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Vanasco N Clinical characteristics and risk....pdf: 244738 bytes, checksum: c222162978cf0b6a2679cce149ed1100 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2015-11-12T12:05:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vanasco N Clinical characteristics and risk....pdf: 244738 bytes, checksum: c222162978cf0b6a2679cce149ed1100 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias. INER “Dr. E. Coni”. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. ANLIS Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán. Santa Fe, Argentina / Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Santa Fe, ArgentinaInstituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias. INER “Dr. E. Coni”. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. ANLIS Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán. Santa Fe, ArgentinaFacultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Santa Fe, ArgentinaFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Division of International Medicine and Infectious Disease. NY, USAINTA. Rafaela, ArgentinaThere is scarce data on the burden of leptospirosis and its epidemiological characteristics in Argentina. This study aimed to evaluate distribution of leptospirosis cases and identify risk factors for the disease during national laboratory-based surveillance. From January 1999 to December 2005, 812 suspected cases were referred to the national reference laboratory, of which 182 and 463 had respectively, laboratory confirmed and unconfirmed diagnosis of leptospirosis. The diagnosis of leptospirosis was discarded in 167 cases. The most prevalent presumptive infecting serogroup was Icterohaemorrhagie followed by Pomona, Ballum and Canicola. The majority of cases occurred during the worm and rainy months. Confirmed cases were predominantly adults and males, who presented with fever, headache and myalgias. Severe clinical manifestations included jaundice and acute renal insufficiency. Conjunctival suffusion, a hallmark clinical sign of leptospirosis, was found in 55% of confirmed cases, and 43% of the cases with discarded diagnosis (p=0.036). After multivariate analyses, age >30 years (OR=2.16; 1.05-4.41), occupation in a rural setting (OR=3.41; 1.45-8.06), contact with contaminated surface water (OR=2.17; 1.01-4.68), and contact with floods (OR=4.49; 1.17-17.25) were significantly associated with leptospirosis. In conclusion, although activities associated with rural occupations remain important risk factors in Argentina, exposures occurring during flooding events have emerged to be the major risk factor for leptospirosis

A survey of zoonotic pathogens carried by Norway rats in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Fil: Easterbrook, J. D. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Estados Unidos.Fil: Kaplan, J. B. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Estados Unidos.Fil: Vanasco, N. B. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias Dr. Emilio Coni; Argentina.Fil: Reeves, W. K. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Purcell, R. H. National Institutes of Health. Hepatitis Viruses Section; Estados Unidos.Fil: Kosoy, M. Y. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases; Estados Unidos.Fil: Glass, G. E. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Estados Unidos.Fil: Watson, J. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology; Estados Unidos.Fil: Klein, S. L. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Estados Unidos.Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) carry several zoonotic pathogens and because rats and humans live in close proximity in urban environments, there exists potential for transmission. To identify zoonotic agents carried by rats in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, we live-trapped 201 rats during 2005–2006 and screened them for a panel of viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Antibodies against Seoul virus (57.7%), hepatitis E virus (HEV, 73.5%), Leptospira interrogans (65.3%), Bartonella elizabethae (34.1%), and Rickettsia typhi (7.0%) were detected in Norway rats. Endoparasites, including Calodium hepatica (87.9%) and Hymenolepis sp. (34.4%), and ectoparasites (13.9%, primarily Laelaps echidninus) also were present. The risk of human exposure to these pathogens is a significant public health concern. Because these pathogens cause non-specific and often self-limiting symptoms in humans, infection in human populations is probably underdiagnosed

A survey of zoonotic pathogens carried by Norway rats in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Fil: Easterbrook, J. D. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Estados Unidos.Fil: Kaplan, J. B. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Estados Unidos.Fil: Vanasco, N. B. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias Dr. Emilio Coni; Argentina.Fil: Reeves, W. K. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.Fil: Purcell, R. H. National Institutes of Health. Hepatitis Viruses Section; Estados Unidos.Fil: Kosoy, M. Y. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases; Estados Unidos.Fil: Glass, G. E. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Estados Unidos.Fil: Watson, J. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology; Estados Unidos.Fil: Klein, S. L. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Estados Unidos.Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) carry several zoonotic pathogens and because rats and humans live in close proximity in urban environments, there exists potential for transmission. To identify zoonotic agents carried by rats in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, we live-trapped 201 rats during 2005–2006 and screened them for a panel of viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Antibodies against Seoul virus (57.7%), hepatitis E virus (HEV, 73.5%), Leptospira interrogans (65.3%), Bartonella elizabethae (34.1%), and Rickettsia typhi (7.0%) were detected in Norway rats. Endoparasites, including Calodium hepatica (87.9%) and Hymenolepis sp. (34.4%), and ectoparasites (13.9%, primarily Laelaps echidninus) also were present. The risk of human exposure to these pathogens is a significant public health concern. Because these pathogens cause non-specific and often self-limiting symptoms in humans, infection in human populations is probably underdiagnosed