Absence of epidemicity of severe leptospirosis in Barbados.

Epidemiol Infect

Tropical Health Epidemiology Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK.

Published: February 1991

The possibility of micro-epidemics of severe leptospirosis occurring on the island of Barbados was investigated by examining the space-time clustering of the disease in 212 laboratory-confirmed cases admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Bridgetown, over a 7-year period. A series of 109 patients with symptoms compatible with leptospirosis but shown to be otherwise by laboratory examination were also examined for comparison. No significant space-time clustering was found among the leptospirosis cases, indicating no evidence for micro-epidemics. By comparison, statistically significant clustering was apparent among the smaller non-leptospirosis series. Possible explanations for the absence of observed micro-epidemics of leptospirosis are discussed.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2271836PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s095026880005651xDOI Listing

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