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Leptospirosis outbreak following severe flooding: a rapid assessment and mass prophylaxis campaign; Guyana, January-February 2005.
PLoS One. 2012; 7(7):e39672.Plos

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis usually transmitted through contact with water or soil contaminated with urine from infected animals. Severe flooding can put individuals at greater risk for contracting leptospirosis in endemic areas. Rapid testing for the disease and large-scale interventions are necessary to identify and control infection. We describe a leptospirosis outbreak following severe flooding and a mass chemoprophylaxis campaign in Guyana.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

From January-March 2005, we collected data on suspected leptospirosis hospitalizations and deaths. Laboratory testing included anti-leptospiral dot enzyme immunoassay (DST), immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining, and microscopic agglutination testing (MAT). DST testing was conducted for 105 (44%) of 236 patients; 52 (50%) tested positive. Four (57%) paired serum samples tested by MAT were confirmed leptospirosis. Of 34 total deaths attributed to leptospirosis, postmortem samples from 10 (83%) of 12 patients were positive by IHC. Of 201 patients interviewed, 89% reported direct contact with flood waters. A 3-week doxycycline chemoprophylaxis campaign reached over 280,000 people.

CONCLUSIONS

A confirmed leptospirosis outbreak in Guyana occurred after severe flooding, resulting in a massive chemoprophylaxis campaign to try to limit morbidity and mortality.

Links

Publisher Full Text
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
dx.plos.org
PMC Free PDF

Authors+Show Affiliations

Dechet AM
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America. adechet@gmail.com
Parsons M
No affiliation info available
Rambaran M
No affiliation info available
Mohamed-Rambaran P
No affiliation info available
Florendo-Cumbermack A
No affiliation info available
Persaud S
No affiliation info available
Baboolal S
No affiliation info available
Ari MD
No affiliation info available
Shadomy SV
No affiliation info available
Zaki SR
No affiliation info available
Paddock CD
No affiliation info available
Clark TA
No affiliation info available
Harris L
No affiliation info available
Lyon D
No affiliation info available
Mintz ED
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdultAgglutination TestsAnimalsAnti-Bacterial AgentsDisease OutbreaksDoxycyclineFemaleFloodsGuyanaHumansImmunoassayImmunohistochemistryLeptospiraLeptospirosisMaleSurvival Rate

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22808049

Citation

Dechet, Amy M., et al. "Leptospirosis Outbreak Following Severe Flooding: a Rapid Assessment and Mass Prophylaxis Campaign; Guyana, January-February 2005." PloS One, vol. 7, no. 7, 2012, pp. e39672.
Dechet AM, Parsons M, Rambaran M, et al. Leptospirosis outbreak following severe flooding: a rapid assessment and mass prophylaxis campaign; Guyana, January-February 2005. PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e39672.
Dechet, A. M., Parsons, M., Rambaran, M., Mohamed-Rambaran, P., Florendo-Cumbermack, A., Persaud, S., Baboolal, S., Ari, M. D., Shadomy, S. V., Zaki, S. R., Paddock, C. D., Clark, T. A., Harris, L., Lyon, D., & Mintz, E. D. (2012). Leptospirosis outbreak following severe flooding: a rapid assessment and mass prophylaxis campaign; Guyana, January-February 2005. PloS One, 7(7), e39672. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0039672
Dechet AM, et al. Leptospirosis Outbreak Following Severe Flooding: a Rapid Assessment and Mass Prophylaxis Campaign; Guyana, January-February 2005. PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e39672. PubMed PMID: 22808049.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Leptospirosis outbreak following severe flooding: a rapid assessment and mass prophylaxis campaign; Guyana, January-February 2005. AU - Dechet,Amy M, AU - Parsons,Michele, AU - Rambaran,Madan, AU - Mohamed-Rambaran,Pheona, AU - Florendo-Cumbermack,Anita, AU - Persaud,Shamdeo, AU - Baboolal,Shirematee, AU - Ari,Mary D, AU - Shadomy,Sean V, AU - Zaki,Sherif R, AU - Paddock,Christopher D, AU - Clark,Thomas A, AU - Harris,Lazenia, AU - Lyon,Douglas, AU - Mintz,Eric D, Y1 - 2012/07/09/ PY - 2011/07/02/received PY - 2012/05/25/accepted PY - 2012/7/19/entrez PY - 2012/7/19/pubmed PY - 2013/3/27/medline SP - e39672 EP - e39672 JF - PloS one JO - PLoS One VL - 7 IS - 7 N2 - BACKGROUND: Leptospirosis is a zoonosis usually transmitted through contact with water or soil contaminated with urine from infected animals. Severe flooding can put individuals at greater risk for contracting leptospirosis in endemic areas. Rapid testing for the disease and large-scale interventions are necessary to identify and control infection. We describe a leptospirosis outbreak following severe flooding and a mass chemoprophylaxis campaign in Guyana. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: From January-March 2005, we collected data on suspected leptospirosis hospitalizations and deaths. Laboratory testing included anti-leptospiral dot enzyme immunoassay (DST), immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining, and microscopic agglutination testing (MAT). DST testing was conducted for 105 (44%) of 236 patients; 52 (50%) tested positive. Four (57%) paired serum samples tested by MAT were confirmed leptospirosis. Of 34 total deaths attributed to leptospirosis, postmortem samples from 10 (83%) of 12 patients were positive by IHC. Of 201 patients interviewed, 89% reported direct contact with flood waters. A 3-week doxycycline chemoprophylaxis campaign reached over 280,000 people. CONCLUSIONS: A confirmed leptospirosis outbreak in Guyana occurred after severe flooding, resulting in a massive chemoprophylaxis campaign to try to limit morbidity and mortality. SN - 1932-6203 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/22808049/Leptospirosis_outbreak_following_severe_flooding:_a_rapid_assessment_and_mass_prophylaxis_campaign L2 - https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0039672 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -