The Trend of Prevalence for Leptospira Specific Antibodies among the Acute Febrile Patients in Peru

Leptospirosis is endemic in Peru, posing a medical threat to US Forces military personnel currently deployed in Peru. There are no reports of leptospirosis available for Peru in recent years. This study is aimed to identify the trend of prevalence for Leptospira-specific antibodies among the acute febrile patients in Peru using serological assays. The hypothesis is that the presence of detectable Leptospira-specific antibodies in these acute febrile patients should suggest an active or recent Leptospira infection. Seven hundred and fifty samples (two hundred and fifty samples each for the year 2005, 2010 and 2015) were arbitrarily selected from individuals enrolled in an acute febrile illness surveillance study in Peru that were negative for malaria and arbovirus isolation. The overall positive for Leptospira-specific antibodies among those acute febrile patients which were negative for malaria and arbovirus isolation was 32%, 24% and 16% for years 2005, 2010 and 2015 respectively. Although, there was a decreasing trend of prevalence for Leptospira-specific antibodies among acute febrile patients which were negative for malaria and arbovirus isolation during the past 10 years, the 16% prevalence Leptospira-specific antibodies in 2015 was still quite high, indicating the potential high level of risk due to Leptospira-infection.