Title
An outbreak of leptospirosis among Peruvian military recruits.
Date Issued
01 January 2003
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Russell, Kevin
Montiel Gonzalez, Marco
Watts, Douglas
Lagos Figueroa, Roberto
Chauca, Gloria
Ore, Marianela
Gonzalez, Jose E.
Tesh, Robert
Destacamento del Centro de Investigación Médica Naval de los Estados Unidos
Destacamento del Centro de Investigación Médica Naval de los Estados Unidos
Destacamento del Centro de Investigación Médica Naval de los Estados Unidos
Destacamento del Centro de Investigación Médica Naval de los Estados Unidos
Destacamento del Centro de Investigación Médica Naval de los Estados Unidos
Destacamento del Centro de Investigación Médica Naval de los Estados Unidos
Destacamento del Centro de Investigación Médica Naval de los Estados Unidos
Destacamento Naval de Investigación Médica
Destacamento del Centro de Investigación Médica Naval de los Estados Unidos
Destacamento Naval de Investigación Médica
Publisher(s)
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Abstract
Acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses are common in tropical developing countries but are difficult to diagnose on clinical grounds alone. Leptospirosis is rarely diagnosed, despite evidence that sporadic cases and epidemics continue to occur worldwide. The purpose of this study was to diagnose an outbreak of acute undifferentiated febrile illness among Peruvian military recruits that developed after a training exercise in the high jungle rainforest of Peru. Of 193 military recruits, 78 developed an acute febrile illness with varied manifestations. Of these, 72 were found to have acute leptospirosis by a microscopic agglutination test (MAT). An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using Leptospira biflexa antigen was insensitive for the detection of anti-leptospiral IgM antibodies compared with the MAT (20 of 72, 28%). This outbreak of acute undifferentiated febrile illness among Peruvian military recruits was due to leptospirosis. High clinical suspicion, initiation of preventative measures, and performance of appropriate diagnostic testing is warranted in similar settings to identify, treat, and prevent leptospirosis.
Start page
53
End page
57
Volume
69
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Medicina tropical
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-0041363428
PubMed ID
Source
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
ISSN of the container
0002-9637
Sponsor(s)
Fogarty International Center R01TW005860 FIC
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción CientÃfica
Scopus