Outbreak of leptospirosis in New Caledonia: diagnosis issues and burden of disease.

C. Goarant (1) , S. Laumond-Barny (2) , J. Perez (1) , F. Vernel-Pauillac (1) , S. Chanteau (1) , A. Guigon (1)

1 Institut Pasteur de Nouvelle-Calédonie
2 Service des actions sanitaires

A leptospirosis epidemic affected New Caledonia during the first semester of 2008. A total of 135 cases were diagnosed with a relatively low fatality rate of 3.7%. Heavy rainfalls, related to La Niña, favoured this epidemic. The PCR, routinely used, confirmed 54% of the cases, and the microagglutination test 56%. Epidemiological and economical data on this epidemic are presented and discussed.

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Human health and pathology; Infectious diseases

C. Goarant, S. Laumond-Barny, J. Perez, F. Vernel-Pauillac, S. Chanteau, et al.. Outbreak of leptospirosis in New Caledonia: diagnosis issues and burden of disease.. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 2009, 14 (8), pp.926-9. ⟨10.1111/j.1365-3156.2009.02310.x⟩. ⟨pasteur-00451012⟩