title: Short report: Seroprevalence of human leptospirosis in Reunion Island (Indian Ocean) assessed by microscopic agglutination test on paper disc-absorbed whole blood.
abstract: In the last decade, leptospirosis has emerged as a globally important infectious disease. Humans most commonly become infected through occupational, recreational, or domestic contact with the urine of carrier animals, either directly or through contaminated water or soil. The disease occurs in urban areas of industrialized and developing countries as well as rural regions worldwide. We present a retrospective study conducted in 2006 on 2,269 randomly selected Reunion Island inhabitants. Blood sampling was performed on individual blotting papers, and microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was conducted on paper disc-absorbed (PDA) blood. We showed that seroprevalence of leptospirosis was 0.66% ± 0.34 in the global population of Reunion Island, which is 1.78 lower than the seroprevalence estimated 20 years before. The serological method is described, and the results discussion focuses on methodology and socio-economic factors.
authors.affiliation: Unité Mixte de Recherche Contrôle des Maladies Animales Exotiques et Emergentes (UMRCMAEE), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Sainte Clotilde, La Réunion, France. amel.desvars@gmail.com
authors.forename: Amélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Desvars
authors.forename: Jimmy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gigan
authors.forename: Géraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hoarau
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gérardin
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Favier
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Michault
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007919:Leptospira / Q000276:immunology; D007921:Leptospira interrogans / Q000276:immunology; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017508:Reunion / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors