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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Seroprevalence of and risk factors for Leishmania seropositivity in a sample population of Western Sicily (Italy)
Claudio CostantinoVitale FrancescoEmanuele AmodioEnza SidotiFabrizio VitaleGiuseppe CalamusaAntonella Migliazzosubject
education.field_of_studyVeterinary medicinelcsh:R5-920biologybusiness.industrylcsh:Public aspects of medicinePopulationVenous blood samplelcsh:RA1-1270Settore MED/42 - Igiene Generale E Applicatabiology.organism_classificationLeishmaniaLeishmania seropositivity epidemiology SicilyLeishmania InfectionsEpidemiology; Public Healthparasitic diseasesSeroprevalenceMedicineLeishmania infantumeducationbusinesslcsh:Medicine (General)Demographydescription
Background: Leishmania is a vector-borne parasite responsible for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of and risk factors for Leishmania infantum seropositivity in a sample of Sicilian population.Methods: A total of 260 subjects were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire and requested for an venous blood sample.Results: Overall, 36 subjects (13.8%) were seropositive against L. infantum with a statistically significant higher prevalence of positivity in older subjects (p=0.04). After adjustment for age, a higher risk for Leishmania seropositivity was found in subjects who had pets living outdoors and untreated with anti-pests, and in those who were current smokers (adj-OR = 2.95 and adj-OR = 3.11, respectively; p < 0.05).Conclusions: Our data confirm that Leishmania infections among Sicilian citizens can be considered relatively frequent, suggesting that a percentage of Leishmania seropositivity can be probably attributed to exposure to both old and new risk factors.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-11-01 | Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Public Health |