| Popis: |
The proposal had the goal of evaluating the relationship between human and equine reactors to Leptospira spp. in the province of Camagüey, Cuba. A data of 5.768 equine sera from the province collected during a decade were investigated. Their reactivity was established by microscopic agglutination (MAT). From the same period and territory, data corresponding to 141 human patients positive to indirect hemoagglutination were used. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to establish the distribution of the investigated variables. The relationship between equine and human reactors was determined by Spearman’s nonparametric correlation. Of the total number of equine sera, 2.617 (45.37%) were positive. The ratio of equine reactors/samples worked had a stable behavior from the third year onwards, when for every two samples analyzed, an average value close to one reactor was obtained. The ratio of equine reactors to human reactors was high (approximately 14:1), with a correlation Rho=0.85 (P=0.002). The great number of equines, their use for transporting passengers in urban areas and the inadequate keeping conditions to which they are frequently subjected, make them potential candidates in the transmission of leptospirosis in Camagüey. It is necessary a close collaboration between human and animal health surveillance systems in order to control this increasing and underestimated zoonosis. |
