Seroprevalence of anti-leptospira antibodies in the inmate population of a State Penitentiary in Piraquara, Paraná, Brazil

• Grant number: 22/15467-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Helio Langoni
• Grantee: Bruno Bertacini
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil faces a complicated situation regarding the prison population. In addition to the serious problem of overcrowding in prisons, the National Policy for Full Health Care of People Deprived of Liberty in the Prison System (PNAISP) is not able to ensure access to health care for the entire prison system. As a consequence of this situation, the Brazilian prison population faces a wide variety of infectious diseases, especially those classified as Neglected Tropical Diseases. Among these is leptospirosis, a zoonosis caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira, whose pleomorphic clinic, with a predominance of mild cases, favors the underreporting of cases. The synanthropic rodents, which can be found in prisons, Rattus norvegicus, Rattus rattus, and Mus musculus are the main reservoirs of the pathogenic serovars of leptospira. Considering leptospirosis as a disease of global importance (WHO), neglected, endemic in the country; the health vulnerability factors of the Brazilian prison population and the lack of studies focusing on the disease in this population, this study seeks to identify the seroprevalence of anti-Leptospira antibodies in the prison population of the State Penitentiary of Piraquara, Paraná, Brazil, through the microscopic agglutination serological test (MAS).