Epidemiology of human leptospirosis in Saint Lucia, 2010–2017
Objective. To describe the epidemiology of human leptospirosis cases in Saint Lucia from 2010 to 2017 and determine whether there was a relationship between cases and rainfall and temperature. Methods. A retrospective analytical study was undertaken to describe the seasonal patterns of human leptosp...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b14e0f9ad3e8454281a36dbbce86349b 2023-05-15T15:12:13+02:00 Epidemiology of human leptospirosis in Saint Lucia, 2010–2017 Gemma Chery Lorraine Francis Shelly-Ann Hunte Phil Leon 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2020.160 https://doaj.org/article/b14e0f9ad3e8454281a36dbbce86349b EN ES PT eng spa por Pan American Health Organization https://iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/53059 https://doaj.org/toc/1020-4989 https://doaj.org/toc/1680-5348 1020-4989 1680-5348 doi:10.26633/RPSP.2020.160 https://doaj.org/article/b14e0f9ad3e8454281a36dbbce86349b Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, Vol 44, Iss 160, Pp 1-8 (2020) leptospirosis saint lucia caribbean region Medicine R Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2020.160 2022-12-31T09:29:21Z Objective. To describe the epidemiology of human leptospirosis cases in Saint Lucia from 2010 to 2017 and determine whether there was a relationship between cases and rainfall and temperature. Methods. A retrospective analytical study was undertaken to describe the seasonal patterns of human leptospirosis cases reported to the Ministry of Health of Saint Lucia between 2010 and 2017. Confirmed cases of leptospirosis were analyzed according to age, sex, seasonality, and geographical distribution. Disease incidence was calculated and the association of cases with geographical distribution, rainfall, and temperature was investigated. Results. A total of 353 leptospirosis cases were reported between 2010 and 2017 and of these, 145 (40.6%) were laboratory confirmed. Cases were aged 7 to 73 years (mean 34 years; median 30 years) with a male to female ratio of 4.2:1. Six deaths were reported during the period, with an overall case fatality rate of 4.1%. There was no relationship between location (district) and incidence of leptospirosis in Saint Lucia. There was a weak correlation between rainfall and leptospirosis cases during the 8-year period (rs = 0.25, p = 0.015) but the correlation between cases and seasons was not statistically significant (dry season rs = 0.13, p = 0.42; wet season rs = 0.23, p = 0.08). There was no correlation between leptospirosis cases and temperature (rs = 0.07, p = 0.49). Conclusions. Leptospirosis has a seasonal distribution in Saint Lucia, with outbreaks during periods following increased rainfall and flooding, such as in the aftermath of tropical storms and hurricanes. Saint Lucia and other Caribbean countries should enhance surveillance for leptospirosis given the likelihood of increased flooding following frequent and intense rainfall due to climate change. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública 44 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English Spanish Portuguese |
topic |
leptospirosis saint lucia caribbean region Medicine R Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
leptospirosis saint lucia caribbean region Medicine R Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Gemma Chery Lorraine Francis Shelly-Ann Hunte Phil Leon Epidemiology of human leptospirosis in Saint Lucia, 2010–2017 |
topic_facet |
leptospirosis saint lucia caribbean region Medicine R Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Objective. To describe the epidemiology of human leptospirosis cases in Saint Lucia from 2010 to 2017 and determine whether there was a relationship between cases and rainfall and temperature. Methods. A retrospective analytical study was undertaken to describe the seasonal patterns of human leptospirosis cases reported to the Ministry of Health of Saint Lucia between 2010 and 2017. Confirmed cases of leptospirosis were analyzed according to age, sex, seasonality, and geographical distribution. Disease incidence was calculated and the association of cases with geographical distribution, rainfall, and temperature was investigated. Results. A total of 353 leptospirosis cases were reported between 2010 and 2017 and of these, 145 (40.6%) were laboratory confirmed. Cases were aged 7 to 73 years (mean 34 years; median 30 years) with a male to female ratio of 4.2:1. Six deaths were reported during the period, with an overall case fatality rate of 4.1%. There was no relationship between location (district) and incidence of leptospirosis in Saint Lucia. There was a weak correlation between rainfall and leptospirosis cases during the 8-year period (rs = 0.25, p = 0.015) but the correlation between cases and seasons was not statistically significant (dry season rs = 0.13, p = 0.42; wet season rs = 0.23, p = 0.08). There was no correlation between leptospirosis cases and temperature (rs = 0.07, p = 0.49). Conclusions. Leptospirosis has a seasonal distribution in Saint Lucia, with outbreaks during periods following increased rainfall and flooding, such as in the aftermath of tropical storms and hurricanes. Saint Lucia and other Caribbean countries should enhance surveillance for leptospirosis given the likelihood of increased flooding following frequent and intense rainfall due to climate change. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gemma Chery Lorraine Francis Shelly-Ann Hunte Phil Leon |
author_facet |
Gemma Chery Lorraine Francis Shelly-Ann Hunte Phil Leon |
author_sort |
Gemma Chery |
title |
Epidemiology of human leptospirosis in Saint Lucia, 2010–2017 |
title_short |
Epidemiology of human leptospirosis in Saint Lucia, 2010–2017 |
title_full |
Epidemiology of human leptospirosis in Saint Lucia, 2010–2017 |
title_fullStr |
Epidemiology of human leptospirosis in Saint Lucia, 2010–2017 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Epidemiology of human leptospirosis in Saint Lucia, 2010–2017 |
title_sort |
epidemiology of human leptospirosis in saint lucia, 2010–2017 |
publisher |
Pan American Health Organization |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2020.160 https://doaj.org/article/b14e0f9ad3e8454281a36dbbce86349b |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change |
op_source |
Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, Vol 44, Iss 160, Pp 1-8 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/53059 https://doaj.org/toc/1020-4989 https://doaj.org/toc/1680-5348 1020-4989 1680-5348 doi:10.26633/RPSP.2020.160 https://doaj.org/article/b14e0f9ad3e8454281a36dbbce86349b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2020.160 |
container_title |
Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública |
container_volume |
44 |
container_start_page |
1 |
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1766342929152999424 |