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Peer reviewedOpen accessLeptospirosis

Leptospirosis in Campinas, Brazil: The interplay between drainage, impermeable areas, and social vulnerability

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases·

Thiago Salomão de Azevedo, Shahista Nisa, Stuart Littlejohn, Renata L. Muylaert

DOI
10.1371/journal.pntd.0013560
PMID
41021620
PMCID
PMC12571306
OpenAlex
W4414606073
Study type
Journal article
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Article type
journal-article
Integrity
current

Why this research matters now

The authors suggest the results support targeted prevention and control strategies in densely populated urban areas of the Global South and that combining contextual environmental data with spatial analysis can inform public health policy, spatial planning, and future epidemiological models.

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Structured evidence summary

Research question

The study investigated whether leptospirosis case distribution in Campinas, Brazil is associated with drainage proximity, soil impermeability, and social vulnerability, with a specific comparison between floodwater/mud-related exposures and other exposures.

Study design

Retrospective observational study using spatial statistical analysis to map autochthonous leptospirosis cases and examine relationships with contextual environmental and socioeconomic factors.

Population and setting

86 autochthonous leptospirosis cases from Campinas city, São Paulo, Brazil, comprising 54 floodwater/mud-associated cases and 32 cases linked to other exposures.

Main findings

Case density increased near drainage systems, peaking at 200 meters. Risk was elevated in socially vulnerable areas, especially where floodwater or mud exposure occurred, and in highly impermeable surfaces. Findings indicate that living and working conditions remain strong determinants of leptospirosis risk.

Public-health relevance

The authors suggest the results support targeted prevention and control strategies in densely populated urban areas of the Global South and that combining contextual environmental data with spatial analysis can inform public health policy, spatial planning, and future epidemiological models.

Important limitations

The supplied abstract does not state explicit study limitations; this summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata and would require the original paper for decision-grade interpretation.

GIDS interpretation

Within a GIDS-style discovery lens, this peer-reviewed spatial epidemiology article offers contextual evidence linking environmental and social vulnerability factors to leptospirosis distribution in a Brazilian urban setting, useful for situational awareness and topic mapping; it does not by itself confirm any active surveillance signal.

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Related GIDS surveillance

Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.

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Evidence relationships

This article has 11 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.

about diseaseaddresses topicaddresses topicaddresses topicevaluates interventioninforms policy domainstudied instudied population settingstudies populationstudies populationuses study design