Leptospirosis in febrile patients with suspected diagnosis of dengue fever

Objective This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of leptospirosis among febrile patients with a suspicious clinical diagnosis of dengue fever in northern Peru. Results A total of 276 serum samples from patients with acute febrile illness (AFI) and suspected diagnosis for dengue virus (DENV) were analyzed. We identified an etiological agent in 121 (47.5%) patients, DENV was detected in 30.4% of the cases, leptospirosis in 11.2% and co-infection by both pathogens was observed in 5.9% of the patients. In this study the most common clinical symptoms reported by the patients were: headache 89.1%, myalgias 86.9% and arthralgias 82.9%. No differences in symptomatology was observed among the different study groups.

Automated summary

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of leptospirosis among febrile patients with a suspicious clinical diagnosis of dengue fever in northern Peru. Results showed that out of 276 serum samples analyzed from patients with acute febrile illness and suspected diagnosis for dengue virus, an etiological agent was identified in 47.5% of patients, with 30.4% testing positive for DENV, 11.2% for leptospirosis, and 5.9% for co-infection by both pathogens. Additionally, no differences in symptomatology were observed among the different study groups.