Author
Affilliation
Abstract
Leptospirosis is an environmentally transmitted zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp. that affects poor communities worldwide. In urban slums, leptospirosis is associated with deficient sanitary infrastructure. Yet, the role of sewerage in the reduction of the environmental contamination with pathogenic Leptospira has not been explored. Here, we conducted a survey of the pathogen in soils surrounding open and
closed sewer sections in six urban slums in Brazil. We found that soils surrounding conventionally closed sewers (governmental interventions) were 3 times less likely to contain pathogenic Leptospira (inverse OR 3.44, 95% CI = 1.66−8.33; p < 0.001) and contained a 6 times lower load of the pathogen (0.82 log10 units
difference, p < 0.01) when compared to their open counterparts. However, no differences were observed in community-closed sewers (poor-quality closings performed by the slum dwellers). Human fecal markers (BacHum) were positively associated with pathogenic Leptospira even in closed sewers, and rat presence was not predictive of the presence of the pathogen in soils, suggesting that site-specific rodent control may not be sufficient to reduce the environmental contamination with Leptospira. Overall, our results indicate that sewerage expansion to urban slums may help reduce the environmental contamination with the pathogen and therefore reduce the risk of human leptospirosis.
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Citation
Casanovas-Massana, Arnau et al. Effect of Sewerage on the Contamination of Soil with Pathogenic Leptospira in Urban Slums. Environ. Sci. Technol. v. 55, p. 1-9, 2021.
DOI
10.1021/acs.est.1c04916
ISSN
1520-5851
Notes
Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases. School of Public Health. Yale University. New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Universidade Federal da Bahia. Instituto de Saúde Coletiva. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Ministério da Saúde. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Department of Epidemiology of Microbial. Diseases, School of Public Health. Yale University. New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Ministério da Saúde. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Ministério da Saúde. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Universidade Federal da Bahia. Instituto de Saúde Coletiva. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Centre for Health Informatics. Computing and Statistics. Lancaster University Medical School. Lancaster, LA, United Kingdom. Universidade Federal da Bahia. Instituto de Saúde Coletiva. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Ministério da Saúde. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Ministério da Saúde. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Universidade Federal da Bahia. Instituto de Saúde Coletiva. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Universidade Federal da Bahia. Instituto de Saúde Coletiva. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Centre for Health Informatics. Computing and Statistics. Lancaster University Medical School. Lancaster, LA, United Kingdom. Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases. School of Public Health. Yale University. New Haven, Connecticut, United States / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Ministério da Saúde. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases. School of Public Health. Yale University. New Haven, Connecticut, United States / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Ministério da Saúde. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Universidade Federal da Bahia / Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases. School of Public Health. Yale University. New Haven, Connecticut, United States / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Ministério da Saúde. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases. School of Public Health. Yale University. New Haven, Connecticut, United States / Universidade Federal da Bahia. Instituto de Saúde Coletiva. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Ministério da Saúde. Salvador, BA, Brasil.
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