title: Prospective serological study of leptospirosis in southern Spain.
abstract: This article reports data concerning a serosurvey carried out in Southern Spain to assess the current epidemiological status of a population exposed to risk of leptospirosis. Microagglutination and IgM-EIA tests were carried out on sera from a sample of workers in agriculture-related occupations, exposed to marsh waters. A cohort of 197 workers were followed for a year in an active surveillance program to evaluate seroconversion (laboratory confirmed leptospirosis). The results have shown for the cohort a density of incidence: 6.4 x 100 persons per year, and for the reference population an accumulated incidence of 41.25/100,000. Prevalence rates (P) were 21.3 x 100 and 144 x 10(5) for the cohort and population respectively. Rates were higher in cray-fishers (P: 62.7%), rice-workers, and butchers. This is the first report identifying cray-fishers as a high risk group for leptospirosis, and the reporting of human contamination by Australis serogroup in Spain.
authors.affiliation: Family Medicine, Valme University Hospital, Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dastis-Bendala
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de Villar-Conde
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Marin-Leon
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Manzanares-Torne
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Perez-Lozano
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cano-Fuentes
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vargas-Romero
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pumarola-Suñe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007919:Leptospira / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology