Preliminary survey of leptospirosis amongst febrile patients from urban slums of East Delhi
Kaur, I.R.; Sachdeva, R.; Arora, V.; Talwar, V.
Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 51: 249-251
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 0004-5772 PMID: 12839344 Document Number: 232519
To determine the possibility of leptospirosis among patients from urban slums presenting with febrile illness during monsoon and post-monsoon season. Evidence of leptospirosis in 180 patients with febrile illness was determined by looking for presence of immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies by leptospiral IgM enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The test was carried out on 160 Widal test negative and 20 Widal test positive sera received from febrile patients during June to September 2001. Twenty-seven out of 180 (15%) sera were positive for leptospiral IgM antibodies. This preliminary survey indicates that leptospirosis could be an important cause of febrile illness in patients from urban slums during monsoon and post-monsoon season.