Abstract
Objective: Leptospirosis is a known zoonotic disease which is closely related to certain high-risk occupational group. This study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with seropositive leptospirosis among army personnel. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted involving 616 army personnel using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic, occupational and environmental data as well as recreational activities history. Serum sample for leptospirosis was taken for screening with IgM Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (IgM ELISA) test. Positive tests were confirmed by Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT). Results: All respondents were male, Malays and married with the mean age of 29.28 (7.15) years old. The mean duration of working was 11.50 (7.75). Majority of the respondents were non-officer and riflemen, smokers (455 (73.9%), stayed inside the camp and engaged in recreational activities. The mean duration of employment was 11.50 (7.75) years. The overall seroprevalence of leptospirosis was 16.2% (95% CI: 13.32, 19.15) and the predominant pathogenic serovar identified was Terengganu (38.2%). Those who had lower educational levels were more protective for positive leptospirosis compared to those who have only primary education (OR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.76; p = 0.009). Conclusion: Despite being named as one of the high-risk occupations for leptospirosis, this study found no significant occupational factors related to leptospirosis seropositivity among army personnel.
Highlights
Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by infection of the bacteria belongs to genus leptospira that affects human as well as other mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles
This study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with seropositive leptospirosis among army personnel
Despite being named as one of the high-risk occupations for leptospirosis, this study found no significant occupational factors related to leptospirosis seropositivity among army personnel
Summary
Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by infection of the bacteria belongs to genus leptospira that affects human as well as other mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles. Based on laboratory surveillance data from the Malaysia Institute for Medical Research (IMR), the estimated incidence has gradually increased from 0.9, 1.18 and 2.13 per 100,000 population in 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively. Another hospital-based study in Northeastern part of Malaysia revealed that the prevalence of leptospirosis among febrile hospital admissions was 8.4% [6]
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