title: Leptospirosis Seroprevalence Among Blue Metal Mine Workers of Tamil Nadu, India.
abstract: Leptospirosis is mainly considered an occupational disease, prevalent among agriculture, sewage works, forestry, and animal slaughtering populations. However, putative risk to miners and their inclusion in the high-risk leptospirosis group remain in need of rigorous analysis. Therefore, a study was conducted with the objective to assess the leptospirosis seroprevalence among miners of two districts of Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 244 sera samples from Pudukkottai miners (124) and Karur miners (120) were analyzed by microscopic agglutination test. Antibodies to leptospires were detected in 94 samples giving an overall seroprevalence of 38.5%. The seroprevalence was higher among Pudukkottai miners (65.3%) when compared with Karur miners (10.8%). Seroprevalence among control population (13%) was significantly less than that of the Pudukkottai miners marking a possible high-risk population group distinction. Subject sera most commonly reacted with organisms of the serogroup Autumnalis, and the pattern was similar in carrier animals of the study areas. Two leptospires were isolated from kidney samples of rats. The prevalence of Autumnalis among rodents and humans source tracked human leptospirosis among the miners. The study also determined that Pudukkottai miners are subjected to high-risk challenges such as exposure to water bodies on the way to the mines (odds ratio [OR] = 10.6), wet mine areas (OR = 10.6), rat infestation (OR = 4.6), and cattle rearing (OR = 10.4) and are thus frequently exposed to leptospirosis compared with Karur miners. Hence, control strategies targeting these populations will likely to prove to be effective remediation strategies benefiting Pudukkottai miners and workers in similar environments across occupations.
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Centre of Excellence in Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tami Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Sakkarai Mohamed Asha
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Parveen
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Centre of Excellence in Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tami Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Baskar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Suganyaa
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Centre of Excellence in Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tami Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Muthu Sri
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Sathya
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Centre of Excellence in Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tami Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Alphonse Asirvatham Princy
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Margreat
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Centre of Excellence in Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tami Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Karikalacholan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sivasankari
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Centre of Excellence in Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tami Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Santhanam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shanmughapriya
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.
authors.forename: Nicholas E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Centre of Excellence in Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tami Nadu, India. natarajaseenivasan@rediffmail.com.
authors.forename: Kalimuthusamy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Natarajaseenivasan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002417:Cattle / Q000382:microbiology; D004285:Dogs / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006041:Goats / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007919:Leptospira / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D000067572:Miners; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D051381:Rats / Q000382:microbiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial