Changing epidemiology of leptospirosis in China from 1955 to 2022
Infectious Diseases of Poverty·
- DOI
- 10.1186/s40249-025-01284-x
- PMID
- —
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W4408120040
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
Leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic Leptospira species, is an important global public health concern; the study highlights climate and socioeconomic factors in disease occurrence and underscores targeted prevention needs, particularly in regions prone to extreme rainfall and floods.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study aimed to describe spatial and temporal patterns and demographic characteristics of leptospirosis in China from 1955 to 2022, and to explore factors influencing transmission risk.
Study design
The analysis used wavelet time series analysis, global Moran's I coefficients, and space-time scanning statistics to examine temporal, seasonal, geographic, and demographic trends in reported national surveillance data from 1955 to 2022, supplemented by a Bayesian spatiotemporal model for preliminary factor analysis.
Population and setting
The study analyzed reported leptospirosis cases across Chinese mainland from 1955 to 2022, with over 99% of cases occurring in southern China and 91% concentrated from July to October.
Main findings
Annual incidence peaked at 38.28 per 100,000 during 1960s-1980s outbreaks but stabilized at 0.07 per 100,000 between 2005-2022; clustering intensified over time, highest during 2015-2022 (Moran's I=0.41, P<0.01); cluster locations shifted from northern to southern provinces after 1985; identified risk factors included annual average precipitation (3.68, 95% CI: 2.50-5.12) and inverse associations with GDP per capita and agricultural machinery power.
Public-health relevance
Leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic Leptospira species, is an important global public health concern; the study highlights climate and socioeconomic factors in disease occurrence and underscores targeted prevention needs, particularly in regions prone to extreme rainfall and floods.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata; no explicit limitations were stated in the abstract. Full interpretation requires access to the original paper.
GIDS interpretation
This article provides a descriptive analysis of historical national surveillance data for leptospirosis in China; it does not constitute or inform an active surveillance signal but rather characterizes long-term epidemiological trends.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 9 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.