Relationship between Physicochemical Characteristics and Pathogenic Leptospira in Urban Slum Waters

Leptospirosis, a zoonosis caused by pathogenic Leptospira, primarily affects tropical, developing regions, especially communities without adequate sanitation. Outbreaks of leptospirosis have been linked with the presence of pathogenic Leptospira in water. In this study, we measured the physicochemic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tropical medicine and infectious disease 2020-09, Vol.5 (3), p.146
Main Authors: de Oliveira, Daiana, Airam Querino, Vladimir, Sara Lee, Yeonsoo, Cunha, Marcelo, Nery Jr, Nivison, Wessels Perelo, Louisa, Rossi Alva, Juan Carlos, Ko, Albert I., Reis, Mitermayer G., Casanovas-Massana, Arnau, Costa, Federico
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
environmental
leptospirosis
LipL32
sewer
standing
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Leptospirosis, a zoonosis caused by pathogenic Leptospira, primarily affects tropical, developing regions, especially communities without adequate sanitation. Outbreaks of leptospirosis have been linked with the presence of pathogenic Leptospira in water. In this study, we measured the physicochemical characteristics (temperature, pH, salinity, turbidity, electrical conductivity, and total dissolved solids (TDS)) of surface waters from an urban slum in Salvador, Brazil, and analyzed their associations with the presence and concentration of pathogenic Leptospira reported previously. We built logistic and linear regression models to determine the strength of association between physicochemical parameters and the presence and concentration of Leptospira. We found that salinity, TDS, pH, and type of water were strongly associated with the presence of Leptospira. In contrast, only pH was associated with the concentration of the pathogen in water. The study of physico-chemical markers can contribute to a better understanding of the occurrence of Leptospira in water and to the identification of sources of risk in urban slum environments.
ISSN:2414-6366
2414-6366
DOI:10.3390/tropicalmed5030146