Leptospirosis in the republic of guinea

Résumé fourni par la source

Leptospirosis is an acute zoonotic infection caused by pathogenic bacteria from the genus Leptospira. Leptospirosis creates significant though underdiagnosed public health problems in Africa. The Republic of Guinea (Guinea) is a country in West Africa, its capital is Conakry. The study objective was to assess the prevalence of the leptospirosis in febrile patients in the Republic of Guinea. We analyzed 827 blood serum samples obtained from febrile patients who applied to municipal health services, in the period from 2020 to 2024. RT-PCR was used to test 627 blood serum samples for the presence of genetic material of pathogenic Leptospira spp. Genotyping of positive samples was performed with the help of primers selected for a fragment of the secY gene. As a result of our study, IgG antibodies to Leptospira spp. were detected in 202 blood serum samples, which amounted to 24.4%.154 blood serum samples (18.6%) were positive for IgM to Leptospira spp. In 80 of the 276 positive samples both antibodies (IgG and IgM) were detected, 122 samples contained only IgG, while 74 only IgM. Leptospira spp. DNA was detected in 5 (0.8%) of 657 serum samples tested for the presence genetic markers of pathogenic leptospira. Sanger sequencing was applied to all 5 samples, and for three samples it resulted in successful leptospira genotyping, but it failed for two other samples may be due to insufficient amount of DNA or its degradation. When analyzed according to the BLAST algorithm, the obtained sequences revealed 100% similarity to those of L. kirschneri that was further confirmed by clustering when constructing the phylogenetic tree. Our study revealed high level of antibodies to leptospirosis in febrile patients, which bear witness to the wide spread of this pathogen in the Republic of Guinea. Joint research with international organizations can provide valuable information on the epidemiology of leptospirosis and improve control and prevention of the disease.

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