Title : Leptospirosis in rural colombia: Moniquira’s case series in 2022
Abstract:
Introduction: Moniquira is a small town in Colombia, with 20,800 inhabitants. The main economic activity is agriculture. Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease related with contaminated water, animals, and poverty. The aim of this paper is to describe the clinical course of the disease and identify possible sources of the infection in this series of cases.
Methods: A descriptive analysis was performed using data of Leptospirosis cases reported to the National Institute of Health in Colombia.
Results: Seven leptospirosis cases were reported in Moniquira during 2022 confirmed by microagglutination testing. All cases were male adults, between 23 and 64 years old with jobs in agriculture. On average, they consulted on day 7 of symptom onset. 7 patients presented with fever, 6 with headache, 5 with myalgias and two with jaundice. One case was an outpatient. Two patients were in the intensive care unit due to septic shock and kidney failure. No deaths were reported. Possible sources of contamination are described in Table 1. Some possible reported sources were animals within the household, rats around or inside the household, and drinking water from the town’s aqueduct.
Conclusions: Out of 7 cases reported, 6 required inpatient care and two patients had critical illness but recovered fully. Main symptoms were fever, myalgias and headache, as generally reported. Jaundice was reported in only two cases, and the severe cases were related with septic shock and kidney failure. All cases were related with frequently described risk factors for Leptospirosis: agriculture jobs, coexistence with animals, and rats within households. Most patients reported consuming water from the city’s aqueduct system and considering the number of cases reported and Moniquira’s population it is unlikely that was a source of contamination.
Table 1: Possible sources of contamination
|
Age |
Animals within household |
Rats around or within household |
House’s water sources |
|
27 |
Dogs, cows |
No |
River |
|
38 |
Mouses |
Yes |
City’s aqueduct |
|
30 |
Cows, pigs |
No |
City’s aqueduct |
|
23 |
Chickens |
No |
City’s aqueduct |
|
64 |
Dogs |
No |
City’s aqueduct |
|
62 |
Dogs |
Yes |
House pond |
|
46 |
Cats |
No |
City’s aqueduct |
