Leptospirosis among sugarcane cutters in São Paulo, Brazil: serological investigation

Abstract

A serological investigation was made among sugar cane workers, to detect the possible occurrence of leptospirosis, disease considered in other Countries (Australia) as related with the diseases caused by the conditions of work, The diagnostic method employed was the serumagglutination in carved China plates with formoled antigen; the antigens were obtained from 20 different serotypes of leptospiras. It was examined 210 samples of serum from workers of the district of Piracicaba, 114 samples from Cosmópolis, 36 from Araraquara and 76 from Lins, with a total of 436 samples; there were four positive cases in the tests of serumagglutination: one for Leptospira andamana with the title 1/400; one for L. icterohaemorrhagie with the title 1/800; one positive for L. pyrogenes and L. saxkoebing, with the title of 1/400 and one positive for L. djasiman at 1/600 and for L. javanica at the title of 1/800. In spite of the hard summer during which the investigation was carried out, the low incidence of leptospirosis as indicated, less than 1% of samples examined permits to affirm that there is no correlation of this occurrence of leptospirosis and the characteristic disease related with professional activity.