IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v11y2014i7p6666-6680d37542.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Leptospira Contamination in Household and Environmental Water in Rural Communities in Southern Chile

Author

Listed:
  • Claudia Muñoz-Zanzi

    (Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, 1300 S. Second St., Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA
    Institute of Animal Pathology, Austral University of Chile, Valdivia, Chile)

  • Meghan R. Mason

    (Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, 1300 S. Second St., Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA)

  • Carolina Encina

    (Institute of Animal Pathology, Austral University of Chile, Valdivia, Chile)

  • Angel Astroza

    (Institute of Animal Pathology, Austral University of Chile, Valdivia, Chile)

  • Alex Romero

    (Institute of Animal Pathology, Austral University of Chile, Valdivia, Chile)

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis of global distribution that affects tropical and temperate areas. Under suitable conditions, Leptospira can survive in water and soil and contribute to human and animal infections. The objective of this study was to describe the presence of pathogenic Leptospira in peri-domestic water samples from rural households in southern Chile. Water samples, including puddles, containers, animal troughs, rivers, canals, and drinking water were collected from 236 households and tested for Leptospira using a PCR assay targeting the lipL32 gene. Evidence of Leptospira presence was detected in all sample types; overall, 13.5% (77/570) samples tested positive. A total of 10/22 (45.5%) open containers, 12/83 (14.5%) animal drinking sources, 9/47 (19.1%) human drinking sources, and 36/306 (19.3%) puddles tested positive. Lower income (OR = 4.35, p = 0.003), increased temperature (OR = 1.23, p < 0.001), and presence of dogs (OR = 15.9, p = 0.022) were positively associated with positive puddles. Increased number of rodent signs was associated with positive puddles in the household (OR = 3.22); however, only in the lower income households. There was no association between PCR positive rodents and puddles at the household level. Results revealed the ubiquity of Leptospira in the household environment and highlight the need to develop formal approaches for systematic monitoring.

Suggested Citation

  • Claudia Muñoz-Zanzi & Meghan R. Mason & Carolina Encina & Angel Astroza & Alex Romero, 2014. "Leptospira Contamination in Household and Environmental Water in Rural Communities in Southern Chile," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:11:y:2014:i:7:p:6666-6680:d:37542
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/11/7/6666/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/11/7/6666/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maria Cristina Schneider & Michel Jancloes & Daniel F. Buss & Sylvain Aldighieri & Eric Bertherat & Patricia Najera & Deise I. Galan & Kara Durski & Marcos A. Espinal, 2013. "Leptospirosis: A Silent Epidemic Disease," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-6, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maria Cristina Schneider & Jorge Velasco-Hernandez & Kyung-duk Min & Deise Galan Leonel & David Baca-Carrasco & Matthew E. Gompper & Rudy Hartskeerl & Claudia Munoz-Zanzi, 2017. "The Use of Chemoprophylaxis after Floods to Reduce the Occurrence and Impact of Leptospirosis Outbreaks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Adedayo Michael Awoniyi & Ana Maria Barreto & Hernan Dario Argibay & Juliet Oliveira Santana & Fabiana Almerinda G. Palma & Ana Riviere-Cinnamond & Gauthier Dobigny & Eric Bertherat & Luther Ferguson , 2024. "Systematic surveillance tools to reduce rodent pests in disadvantaged urban areas can empower communities and improve public health," Post-Print hal-04498188, HAL.
    2. Maria Cristina Schneider & Jorge Velasco-Hernandez & Kyung-duk Min & Deise Galan Leonel & David Baca-Carrasco & Matthew E. Gompper & Rudy Hartskeerl & Claudia Munoz-Zanzi, 2017. "The Use of Chemoprophylaxis after Floods to Reduce the Occurrence and Impact of Leptospirosis Outbreaks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Mas Harithulfadhli Agus Ab Rahman & Suhaily Mohd Hairon & Rukman Awang Hamat & Tengku Zetty Maztura Tengku Jamaluddin & Mohd Nazri Shafei & Norazlin Idris & Malina Osman & Surianti Sukeri & Zainudin A, 2018. "Leptospirosis Health Intervention Module Effect on Knowledge, Attitude, Belief, and Practice among Wet Market Workers in Northeastern Malaysia: An Intervention Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-12, July.
    4. Nurul Natasya Azhari & Rosliza Abdul Manaf & Shing Wei Ng & Siti Farhana Bajunid Shakeeb Arsalaan Bajunid & Abdul Rahman Mohd Gobil & Wan Zuhainis Saad & Syafinaz Amin Nordin, 2019. "Gamification, a Successful Method to Foster Leptospirosis Knowledge among University Students: A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-12, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:11:y:2014:i:7:p:6666-6680:d:37542. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.