Association of Rainfall and the Occurrence of Pathogenic Leptospira spp. in Recreational Stream Water, Hulu Langat, Selangor

摘要

Leptospirosis is a human disease caused mainly by Leptospira interrogans. Global Leptospirosis burden is significant especially in a tropical climate country like Malaysia. However, inadequate detection in environments and recreational areas has affected the awareness of the disease among the public community. In this study, the presence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in recreational stream water samples from Sg. Tekala, Hulu Langat was described. A total of 126 water samples were collected randomly in bi-weekly time frame from February to July 2016 and tested for pathogenic Leptospira spp. using a PCR assay targeting the HpL32 gene. To assess the link between the presence of Leptospira spp. and rainfall, data on daily rainfall during six months of sampling have also been recorded from Malaysian Meteorological Department. The pathogenic Leptospira spp. were detected in 27/126 (21.4%) of samples. Statistical evaluation using Spearman's Correlation Test on the association of Leptospira detected samples and rainfall data has shown a significant negative relationship, where a probability of pathogenic Leptospira spp. to be detected in water was higher at the time of low rainfall. This was the first report on the association of rainfall and the occurrence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in recreational water. The connotation between the rainfall and presence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in recreational water suggested the needs to develop a systematic approach for Leptospira spp. monitoring especially during dry season.