TY - JOUR
T1 - An outbreak of leptospirosis among Peruvian military recruits.
AU - Russell, Kevin L.
AU - Montiel Gonzalez, Marco A.
AU - Watts, Douglas M.
AU - Lagos-Figueroa, Roberto C.
AU - Chauca, Gloria
AU - Ore, Marianela
AU - Gonzalez, Jose E.
AU - Moron, Cecilia
AU - Tesh, Robert B.
AU - Vinetz, Joseph M.
PY - 2003/7
Y1 - 2003/7
N2 - Acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses are common in tropical developing countries but are difficult to diagnose on clinical grounds alone. Leptospirosis is rarely diagnosed, despite evidence that sporadic cases and epidemics continue to occur worldwide. The purpose of this study was to diagnose an outbreak of acute undifferentiated febrile illness among Peruvian military recruits that developed after a training exercise in the high jungle rainforest of Peru. Of 193 military recruits, 78 developed an acute febrile illness with varied manifestations. Of these, 72 were found to have acute leptospirosis by a microscopic agglutination test (MAT). An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using Leptospira biflexa antigen was insensitive for the detection of anti-leptospiral IgM antibodies compared with the MAT (20 of 72, 28%). This outbreak of acute undifferentiated febrile illness among Peruvian military recruits was due to leptospirosis. High clinical suspicion, initiation of preventative measures, and performance of appropriate diagnostic testing is warranted in similar settings to identify, treat, and prevent leptospirosis.
AB - Acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses are common in tropical developing countries but are difficult to diagnose on clinical grounds alone. Leptospirosis is rarely diagnosed, despite evidence that sporadic cases and epidemics continue to occur worldwide. The purpose of this study was to diagnose an outbreak of acute undifferentiated febrile illness among Peruvian military recruits that developed after a training exercise in the high jungle rainforest of Peru. Of 193 military recruits, 78 developed an acute febrile illness with varied manifestations. Of these, 72 were found to have acute leptospirosis by a microscopic agglutination test (MAT). An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using Leptospira biflexa antigen was insensitive for the detection of anti-leptospiral IgM antibodies compared with the MAT (20 of 72, 28%). This outbreak of acute undifferentiated febrile illness among Peruvian military recruits was due to leptospirosis. High clinical suspicion, initiation of preventative measures, and performance of appropriate diagnostic testing is warranted in similar settings to identify, treat, and prevent leptospirosis.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0041363428&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0041363428&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4269/ajtmh.2003.69.53
DO - 10.4269/ajtmh.2003.69.53
M3 - Article
C2 - 12932097
AN - SCOPUS:0041363428
SN - 0002-9637
VL - 69
SP - 53
EP - 57
JO - The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
JF - The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
IS - 1
ER -