Seroprevalencia de leptospirosis en mineros, Estado Bolívar, Venezuela

Abstract

Leptospirosis is an infectious, zoonotic, cosmopolitan, neglected disease caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. The hot and humid climate of the tropics is particularly conducive to its expansion. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. in miners attending the Type II Diagnostic Center Hospital “Dr. Gervasio Vera Custodio” from Upata, Bolívar states, Venezuela. Fifty febrile subjects who agreed to participate in the study were evaluated. Most were between the ages of 21-30 and 31-40 years (n = 16; 32%). One hundred percent of individuals have gold mining as their sole occupation, being surface mining prevalent (n = 45; 90%) over underground (n = 5; 10%). Forty six percent (n = 23) of the miners had IgM antibodies against Leptospira spp. A statistically significant association between the presence of IgM antibodies against Leptospira spp. and the following clinical manifestations: fever, vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, choluria and arthralgias (p < 0.05) was observed. A high prevalence of specific IgM antibodies against Leptospira spp. (46.0%) in a group of miners from Bolívar state was shown in this study, the first that indicates the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in gold workers of Venezuela. This population of workers have a considerable risk of contracting the infection due to the labor and environmental conditions existing in this region of the country.