title: Geographic analysis on the occurrence of human and canine leptospirosis in the city of Maringá, state of Paraná, Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease, the primary hosts of which are wild, synanthropic, and household animals. Humans behave as terminal and accidental hosts. The prevalence of leptospirosis depends on carrier animals that disseminate the agent, on the environmental survival of this agent, and on the contact of susceptible individuals. Each serovar has one or more hosts with different adaptation levels. The focuses of leptospirosis are infected, sick, and asymptomatic animals, which are considered to be sources of environmental infection. This study aimed to determine the risk areas for leptospiral infection in stray dogs and patients diagnosed with leptospirosis from 2006 to 2008 in Maringá, State of Paraná, Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred and thirty-five stray dogs and 25 patients were studied. Serum from both animals and patients was examined by the microscopic serum agglutination test to study anti-leptospiral antibodies. To determine the risk areas and the spatial distribution of the disease, thematic maps were designed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-one (12.2%) dogs positive for one or more leptospire serovars were observed, the most frequent serovars being Pyrogenes (43.9%), Canícola (21.9%), and Copennhageni (19.5%). Among the humans, 2 (8%) were positive for serovars Pyrogenes and Hardjo Prajitno and for Pyrogenes and Cynopteri.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Spatial analysis showed that the risk for dogs and humans in the City of Maringá to become infected with leptospires exists in both the central and the peripheral areas, a fact that reinforces the relevance of this study and of continuous epidemiological and environmental surveillance actions to control the disease in animals and in humans.
authors.affiliation: Gerência de Epidemiologia, Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Maringá, Maringá, PR. janetefonzar@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Udelysses Janete Veltrini
authors.initials: UJ
authors.lastname: Fonzar
authors.forename: Hélio
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Langoni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007919:Leptospira / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial