METHODS: Soil and water samples near leptospirosis patients' residences were collected, processed and cultured into EMJH media. Partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed to confirm the identity of Leptospira.
RESULTS: EMJH culture and partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed predominant growth of pathogenic Leptospira kmetyi (17%, n=7/42). All tested locations had at least one Leptospira sp., mostly from the soil samples.
CONCLUSION: More than one species of Leptospira may be present in a sampling area. The most common environmental isolates were pathogenic L. kmetyi.
METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted in northeastern Malaysia involving 321 town service workers who were subjected to answer an interviewer-guided validated questionnaire which consists of sociodemographic, knowledge, attitude and practice information. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS Version 20.
RESULTS: All of the respondents were Malay with mean (SD) age of 40.6 (10.28) years old. The mean (SD) duration of employment was 12.1 (9.62) years. Fifty four respondents (16.8%) had never heard of leptospirosis. Among the respondents, 215 (67.0%) of them had poor knowledge on leptospirosis. Meanwhile, 167 (52.0%) and only 128 (39.9%) of them had satisfactory attitude and practice respectively. It was found that knowledge on risk factors for leptospirosis was lacking. There were high risk attitudes such as drinking habit and protective equipment used during working with the favourable answers ranged from 67.3% to 89.1%. The weakest area identified in their practice was also on the use of protective equipment.
CONCLUSIONS: The workers' level of knowledge and practice were relatively poor despite an overall good practice on leptospirosis. This finding might expose them to an increased risk of contracting leptospirosis. Identified weak areas in their knowledge, attitude and practice will assist the policy makers to develop a focused and well-directed intervention program on leptospirosis infection.
Material and Methods: In December 2014, Kelantan was hit by an extensive flood. A total of 1,728 serum samples were collected from livestock from the state, comprised of 1,024 from cattle, 366 from goats and 338 from sheep, and they were tested using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT).
Results: Altogether, 203 (11.75%; 203/1728; 95% CI: 10.20%-13.30%) of the tested sera were found to be positive serologically. Cattle had the highest prevalence of 14.16% (145/1024), while goats and sheep had 11.20% (41/366) and 5.03% (17/338) respectively. The most frequent serovars detected were Hardjo-bovis (3.70%; 64/1728), Hebdomadis (2.08%; 36/1728) and Pomona (1.04%; 18/1728). There was a statistically significant association (P < 0.05) between livestock that were exposed to the flood and seropositivity.
Conclusion: This study showed that flood is a risk factor that can play a role in the epidemiology of leptospiral infection in livestock.