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Poverty, sanitation, and Leptospira transmission pathways in residents from four Brazilian slums

Residents of urban slums suffer from a high burden of zoonotic diseases due to individual, socioeconomic, and environmental factors. We conducted a cross-sectional sero-survey in four urban slums in Salvador, Brazil, to characterize how poverty and sanitation contribute to the transmission of rat-bo...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Khalil, Hussein, Santana, Roberta, de Oliveira, Daiana, Palma, Fabiana, Lustosa, Ricardo, Eyre, Max T., Carvalho-Pereira, Ticiana, Reis, Mitermayer G., Ko, Albert I., Diggle, Peter J., Alzate Lopez, Yeimi, Begon, Mike, Costa, Federico
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8041187/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33788864
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009256
Descripción
Sumario:Residents of urban slums suffer from a high burden of zoonotic diseases due to individual, socioeconomic, and environmental factors. We conducted a cross-sectional sero-survey in four urban slums in Salvador, Brazil, to characterize how poverty and sanitation contribute to the transmission of rat-borne leptospirosis. Sero-prevalence in the 1,318 participants ranged between 10.0 and 13.3%. We found that contact with environmental sources of contamination, rather than presence of rat reservoirs, is what leads to higher risk for residents living in areas with inadequate sanitation. Further, poorer residents may be exposed away from the household, and ongoing governmental interventions were not associated with lower transmission risk. Residents at higher risk were aware of their vulnerability, and their efforts improved the physical environment near their household, but did not reduce their infection chances. This study highlights the importance of understanding the socioeconomic and environmental determinants of risk, which ought to guide intervention efforts.