title: Seroepidemiology of leptospirosis in southern Vietnamese children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the seroprevalence of human leptospirosis in southern Vietnam.
  
  
  METHODS
  All pupils (n=961) of two primary schools in two communes in southern Vietnam were screened for the presence of serum Leptospira immunoglobulin (Ig)G. Leptospira IgM was tested in 92 randomly selected samples. IgM and IgG were tested with a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Leptospira IgG was found in 123 (12.8%, 95% CI: 10.8-15.1) children with a male:female ratio of 1.5:1. At the age of 7 years the prevalence was 11%. Log-linear binary regression of the IgG seroprevalence by age showed a mean seroconversion rate of 1.5% (95% CI: 1.23-1.75) per year. Five (5.4%, 95% CI: 2.3-12.1) samples were definitely positive for IgM. Presence of serum Leptospira IgG antibodies was significantly associated with swimming in rivers (RR: 1.745, 95% CI: 1.117-2.724) and wading through water (RR 1.793, 95% CI: 1.181-2.722).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data emphasize the importance of leptospirosis among children in Vietnam, despite the absence of severe disease, and stress the need for adequate and cheap diagnostics.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine & AIDS, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Tropical Diseases Clinical Research Center, Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Khoa T D
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Thai
authors.forename: Tran Quang
authors.initials: TQ
authors.lastname: Binh
authors.forename: Phan Trong
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Giao
authors.forename: Hoang Lan
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Phuong
authors.forename: Le Quoc
authors.initials: le Q
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: Nguyen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Van Nam
authors.forename: Tran Thanh
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Nga
authors.forename: Marga G A
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Goris
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: de Vries
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D015994:Incidence; D007919:Leptospira / Q000276:immunology; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D045483:Rivers / Q000382:microbiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013550:Swimming; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M