Eco-Epidemiological Study of Seropositivity Against Rickettsia and Leptospira Agents in Rural Areas of Urabá, Colombia

Rickettsioses and leptospirosis are infectious diseases often underdiagnosed due to limited knowledge about their epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical aspects.

To characterize the seroprevalence and seroincidence of Rickettsia and Leptospira agents and determine their associated factors in rural areas of Urabá, Antioquia, Colombia.

Analysis of seropositivity of a prospective study exploring sociocultural and ecological aspects of Rickettsia and Leptospira infection. A multinomial mixed logistic regression model analysed factors linked to seroprevalent cases, with descriptive analyses of seroincident cases.

Concomitant seroprevalence against Rickettsia and Leptospira was 9.38% (95% CI: 6.08%-13.37%). Associated factors included age (ORa = 1.02; 95% CI 1.007-1.03), male gender (ORa = 3.06; 95% CI: 1.75-5.37), fever history (ORa = 1.71; 95% CI: 1.06-2.77), presence of breeding pigs (ORa = 2.29; 95% CI 1.36-3.88), peridomicile yucca crops (ORa = 2.5; 95% CI 1.1-5.62), and deforestation practices (ORa = 1.74; 95% CI 1.06-2.87). Concomitant seroincidence was 1.09% (3/274) (95% CI: 0.29%-4.05%). All seroincident cases were female, median age 31.83 years (IQR: 8.69-56.99), with similar housing characteristics (soil floors, wooden walls, zinc roofs) and exposure to domestic and synanthropic animals.

There is evidence of concomitant seroprevalent and seroincident cases against both microorganisms in rural Urabá, Colombia. These findings can improve public health surveillance systems in preventing, detecting, and managing clinical cases caused by these pathogens.