Leptospirosis among Dengue-Negative Febrile Patients in Selangor, Malaysia

In recent years, the number of leptospirosis cases, including the number of deaths, has exponentially increased in Malaysia. From June 2016 to February 2018, blood samples of 321 febrile patients with the presumptive diagnosis of dengue-like illness were examined for possible exposure to Leptospira. Two hundred fifty-five blood sam-ples were tested as negative for dengue. Seminested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and IgM ELISA for leptospirosis were performed. From the samples, an overall prevalence for leptospirosis based on PCR of 4.7% (12/255) was obtained. Eighteen percent (46/255) were positive for anti-Leptospira IgM antibodies. The genome sequences of six of 12 Leptospira PCR-positive samples showed > 97.0% similarity to Leptospira interrogans. One patient's sample con-sisted of Leptospira and chikungunya virus, suggesting a coinfection. Findings from the study suggest that leptospirosis is prevalent among dengue-negative febrile patients in Malaysia.

Automated summary

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of leptospirosis cases in Malaysia. A study found that 4.7% of febrile patients with dengue-like illness had leptospirosis, and 18% had positive anti-Leptospira IgM antibodies. Furthermore, one patient was found to be co-infected with leptospirosis and chikungunya virus.