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Soon Jin Lee 1 Article
A seroepidemiological study on leptospiral infection in a ruralcommunity.
Soon Jin Lee, Seok Yong Lee, Bo Youl Choi, Ung Ring Ko, Sae Jung Oh, Joung Soon Kim
Korean J Epidemiol. 1992;14(1):79-90.
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Abstract
A seroepidemiological follow-up survey for antibody to Leptospirae was undertaken twice, the first one in Oct.-Dec. 1988 and the second in Dec. 1989-Mar. 1990 among adult inhabitants of over 20 years of age in Yang-pyeong Gun, Kyeong-ki Do. The sera of 480 persons in 1988 and 328 persons in 1989 were tested for Leptospirae by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and interview was used for additional inforamtion. The serologic test was performed against 4 strains, which were Icterohemorrhagiae lai and Canicola canicola Hond Utrecht IV as standard strains, and 6P-049-1 and YP-35-1 as strains isolated in 1986 in Korea, in accordance with WHO guideline. The results of the test showed that 106 of 480 sera(22.1%) in 1988, and 84 of 328 sera(25.6%) in 1989 turned out to be positive to Leptospirae. The seropositive rates for Leptospirae by district in 1988 and 1989 were 12.9~33.3% and 15.0~42.2% respectively and the difference was statistically significant. One district, mainly a commercial area was newly added in 1989. The seropositive rate of that district was 15% and it was significantly low when compared with 32.8% of seropositive rate of the other rural districts. No difference was observed among age groups of 20~30, 40~50 and over 60 years as well as among sexes. The seropositive rate of farmers and non-farmers were 23.0% versus 10.0% in 1988 and 31.1% versus 17.7% in 1989 showing higher rate among farmers. A total of 143 persons were followed up 14 months and it was observed that 37.0% (10/27) of seropositive subjects remained positive, and 31.9%(37/116) of seronegatives were converted to seropositive. The duration of persistent antibody titer over 1 : 80 against Leptospirae that be calculated by formula(prevalence=incidence*duration) was 8.3 months. As for the seropositive reaction with or without febril illness, 29.3% (17/58) of subjects with febrile illness and 24.7 (66/267) of subjects without febrile illness turned out to be positive, showing no significant difference between them.
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Epidemiol Health : Epidemiology and Health