Author(s)

Siti Sara Y.¹, Aziah B. D.^2*, Azwany Y. N.², Mohd Nazri S.², Zahiruddin W. M.², Nabilah A.³, Siti Asma’ H.³, Zaliha I.⁴, Fairuz A.⁵

¹Public Health Division, Selangor State Health Department, Ministry of Health, Selangor, Malaysia.
²Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia.
³Department of Medical Microbiology & Parasitology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia.
⁴Population Health & Preventive Medicine Discipline, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia.
⁵Institute for Medical Research (IMR), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Objective: Leptospirosis is a known zoonotic disease which is closely related to certain high-risk occupational group. This study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with seropositive leptospirosis among army personnel. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted involving 616 army personnel using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic, occupational and environmental data as well as recreational activities history. Serum sample for leptospirosis was taken for screening with IgM Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (IgM ELISA) test. Positive tests were confirmed by Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT). Results: All respondents were male, Malays and married with the mean age of 29.28 (7.15) years old. The mean duration of working was 11.50 (7.75). Majority of the respondents were non-officer and riflemen, smokers (455 (73.9%), stayed inside the camp and engaged in recreational activities. The mean duration of employment was 11.50 (7.75) years. The overall seroprevalence of leptospirosis was 16.2% (95% CI: 13.32, 19.15) and the predominant pathogenic serovar identified was Terengganu (38.2%). Those who had lower educational levels were more protective for positive leptospirosis compared to those who have only primary education (OR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.76; p = 0.009). Conclusion: Despite being named as one of the high-risk occupations for leptospirosis, this study found no significant occupational factors related to leptospirosis seropositivity among army personnel.

Army, Leptospirosis, Seroprevalence, Igm Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT)

Y., S. , D., A. , N., A. , S., M. , M., Z. , A., N. , H., S. , I., Z. and A., F. (2020) Do Occupational Factors Render Army Service a High-Leptospirosis-Risk Occupation?. Occupational Diseases and Environmental Medicine, 8, 79-89. doi: 10.4236/odem.2020.82006.