A large leptospirosis outbreak following successive severe floods in Fiji, 2012

Eri Togami; Mike Kama; Cyrille Goarant; Scott B. Craig; Colleen Lau; Jana M. Ritter; Allison Imrie; Albert I. Ko; Eric J. Nilles

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.18-0335

A large leptospirosis outbreak following successive severe floods in Fiji, 2012

Eri Togami^*, Mike Kama, Cyrille Goarant, Scott B. Craig, Colleen Lau, Jana M. Ritter, Allison Imrie, Albert I. Ko, Eric J. Nilles

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

37 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Severe flooding has been linked to outbreaks of leptospirosis. Two sequential extreme flood events in Western Fiji caused the largest outbreak of leptospirosis recorded in the South Pacific, with 1,217 total suspected cases, of which 314 were probable and confirmed. Most (83%) cases occurred within 6 weeks of the flood events, displaying a biphasic epidemic curve associated with the floods. Given the temporal proximity of cases to flooding events, most of the transmission appeared to occur during or immediately after the floods; therefore, prevention of exposure to contaminated environments is a priority in the immediate flood and post-flood period. In addition, genotyping studies suggest that multiple animal reservoirs were implicated in the outbreak, reaffirming the importance of integrated human and animal health strategies for leptospirosis control.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	849-851
Number of pages	3
Journal	American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume	99
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.18-0335
Publication status	Published - 2018

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title = "A large leptospirosis outbreak following successive severe floods in Fiji, 2012",

abstract = "Severe flooding has been linked to outbreaks of leptospirosis. Two sequential extreme flood events in Western Fiji caused the largest outbreak of leptospirosis recorded in the South Pacific, with 1,217 total suspected cases, of which 314 were probable and confirmed. Most (83%) cases occurred within 6 weeks of the flood events, displaying a biphasic epidemic curve associated with the floods. Given the temporal proximity of cases to flooding events, most of the transmission appeared to occur during or immediately after the floods; therefore, prevention of exposure to contaminated environments is a priority in the immediate flood and post-flood period. In addition, genotyping studies suggest that multiple animal reservoirs were implicated in the outbreak, reaffirming the importance of integrated human and animal health strategies for leptospirosis control.",

author = "Eri Togami and Mike Kama and Cyrille Goarant and Craig, {Scott B.} and Colleen Lau and Ritter, {Jana M.} and Allison Imrie and Ko, {Albert I.} and Nilles, {Eric J.}",

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T1 - A large leptospirosis outbreak following successive severe floods in Fiji, 2012

AU - Togami, Eri

AU - Kama, Mike

AU - Goarant, Cyrille

AU - Craig, Scott B.

AU - Lau, Colleen

AU - Ritter, Jana M.

AU - Imrie, Allison

AU - Ko, Albert I.

AU - Nilles, Eric J.

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - Severe flooding has been linked to outbreaks of leptospirosis. Two sequential extreme flood events in Western Fiji caused the largest outbreak of leptospirosis recorded in the South Pacific, with 1,217 total suspected cases, of which 314 were probable and confirmed. Most (83%) cases occurred within 6 weeks of the flood events, displaying a biphasic epidemic curve associated with the floods. Given the temporal proximity of cases to flooding events, most of the transmission appeared to occur during or immediately after the floods; therefore, prevention of exposure to contaminated environments is a priority in the immediate flood and post-flood period. In addition, genotyping studies suggest that multiple animal reservoirs were implicated in the outbreak, reaffirming the importance of integrated human and animal health strategies for leptospirosis control.

AB - Severe flooding has been linked to outbreaks of leptospirosis. Two sequential extreme flood events in Western Fiji caused the largest outbreak of leptospirosis recorded in the South Pacific, with 1,217 total suspected cases, of which 314 were probable and confirmed. Most (83%) cases occurred within 6 weeks of the flood events, displaying a biphasic epidemic curve associated with the floods. Given the temporal proximity of cases to flooding events, most of the transmission appeared to occur during or immediately after the floods; therefore, prevention of exposure to contaminated environments is a priority in the immediate flood and post-flood period. In addition, genotyping studies suggest that multiple animal reservoirs were implicated in the outbreak, reaffirming the importance of integrated human and animal health strategies for leptospirosis control.

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A large leptospirosis outbreak following successive severe floods in Fiji, 2012

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