Seroprevalence of Leptospiral Antibodies among Healthy Municipal Service Workers in Selangor

Abstract

Introduction. Municipal service workers have been found to have an occupational risk of leptospirosis. Study among municipality workers shows high seropositivity of leptospiral antibodies detected among town cleaners and garbage collectors.Objective. Aims of this study were to determine seroprevalence of leptospiral antibodies and distribution of serovars detected in samples among municipal service workers.Methodology. Cross-sectional study involved 89 municipal service workers in Selangor. Blood samples were taken and serological test was done using MAT following standard procedures.Results. Seropositivity of leptospiral antibodies among municipal service workers was 34.8%. Serovars identified were strains ofSarawak, Copenhageni, Hardjobovis, Lai, Bataviae, Patoc, Celledoni, Hardjoprajitno, Tarrasovi, andPomona. There were 31 workers with positive leptospiral antibodies. All of them were frequently exposed towards leptospirosis. Significant associations have been reported between seropositivity of leptospiral antibodies with job category (P=0.021) and worker’s nationality (P=0.014) among municipal service workers.Conclusion. High seropositivity of leptospiral antibodies detected among municipal service workers which was associated with job category and nationality of workers. The significant findings from this study suggest that health education programs and safe work practice should be considered to prevent leptospirosis among municipal service workers in future.

Seroprevalence of leptospiral antibodies among market workers and food handlers in the central state of Malaysia

“…The ongoing molecular study of IMR LEP 175 may provide information on molecular characterisation and endemicity of this serovar in Malaysia. The non-pathogenic strain Patoc was the second most common serovar we found, corroborating many previous studies in Malaysia [17,25] except Samsudin et al [13], who reported Bataviae as the most common serovar. This may be due to differences in locality, job routines and risk of exposure towards leptospirosis among study populations.…”

“…Serovar IMR LEP 175 was the most frequent strain detected, consistent with previous studies from different regions in Malaysia . The ongoing molecular study of IMR LEP 175 may provide information on molecular characterisation and endemicity of this serovar in Malaysia.…”

“…This homogenous serovar pattern could have been passed on through many generations of the reservoir infesting the area. In Subang Jaya area, the number of local and WHO strain serovars was almost similar, as most of the respondents were non‐citizens and may have acquired the WHO strain in their home country and been exposed to local strains after immigration, confirming the results of previous studies .…”

“…Our study demonstrates a higher seroprevalence of leptospirosis among healthy food handlers and wet market workers than previous studies in a healthy population . We found a significant association between sex and seropositivity: the proportion of those who tested seropositive for leptospiral antibodies was smaller among males than females.…”

“…The non‐pathogenic strain Patoc was the second most common serovar we found, corroborating many previous studies in Malaysia except Samsudin et al . , who reported Bataviae as the most common serovar. This may be due to differences in locality, job routines and risk of exposure towards leptospirosis among study populations.…”