Leptospirosis among dengue-negative febrile patients in Selangor, Malaysia
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1-2022
Abstract
In recent years, the number of leptospirosis cases, including the number of deaths, has exponentially increased in Malaysia. From June 2016 to February 2018, blood samples of 321 febrile patients with the presumptive diagnosis of dengue-like illness were examined for possible exposure to Leptospira. Two hundred fifty-five blood sam-ples were tested as negative for dengue. Seminested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and IgM ELISA for leptospirosis were performed. From the samples, an overall prevalence for leptospirosis based on PCR of 4.7% (12/255) was obtained. Eighteen percent (46/255) were positive for anti-Leptospira IgM antibodies. The genome sequences of six of 12 Leptospira PCR-positive samples showed > 97.0% similarity to Leptospira interrogans. One patient's sample con-sisted of Leptospira and chikungunya virus, suggesting a coinfection. Findings from the study suggest that leptospirosis is prevalent among dengue-negative febrile patients in Malaysia.
Keywords
Epidemiology, Diagnosis
Divisions
tidrec
Funders
Ministry of Education, Malaysia [MO002-2019]
Publication Title
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume
107
Issue
2
Publisher
Amer Soc Trop Med & Hygiene
Publisher Location
8000 WESTPARK DR, STE 130, MCLEAN, VA 22101 USA