[Seroepidemiologic study of human leptospirosis in Lombardy]

In 1987 a seroepidemiological research was performed to verify the prevalence of leptospira agglutinins on the urban and rural population of Milan, Bergamo and Mantova Provinces in Lombardia Region. Were controlled 150 subjects (75 males and 15 females) in Milan town, 58 (49 males and 9 females) in municipalities of Bergamo Province, and 68 (55 males and 13 females) of Mantova Province. La prevalence of leptospira agglutinins in exposed subjects was 14.3% and in unexposed subjects 8.6%. In the females was noted a significative higher prevalence of agglutinins (14.4%) than in males (9.5%), especially in the females exposed (36.3%) than in females unexposed (9.6%). The leptospira serovars most interested were L. sejroe (15.9%), L. poi (13.6%), L. bratislava, L. canicola and L. Zanoni (9.1%). The sera tested proved reactivity of 56.8% also against two or three different serovars of pathogenic leptospira and prevalence of 13.6% of coagglutinins against nonpathogenic L. patoc serovar.