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Workplace
Original article
Risk factors for leptospirosis seropositivity in slaughterhouse workers in western Kenya
  1. Elizabeth Anne Jessie Cook1,2,
  2. William Anson de Glanville1,2,
  3. Lian Francesca Thomas1,2,
  4. Samuel Kariuki3,
  5. Barend Mark de Clare Bronsvoort4,5,
  6. Eric Maurice Fèvre2,6
  1. 1Ashworth Laboratories, Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
  2. 2International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
  3. 3Centre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
  4. 4The Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK
  5. 5Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Roslin, UK
  6. 6Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, Neston, UK
  1. Correspondence to Professor Eric Fèvre, Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Chester High Road, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK; eric.fevre{at}liverpool.ac.uk

Abstract

Objectives Leptospirosis has been documented in slaughterhouse workers around the world. Risk factors include smoking and drinking at work, and performing tasks such as cleaning offal. This paper examined risk factors for leptospirosis seropositivity in slaughterhouse workers in western Kenya.

Methods The study was conducted between May 2011 and October 2012. Questionnaires were used to collect information from workers on demographic data, health and hygiene practices in the slaughterhouse. A commercial ELISA detected antibodies to Leptospira spp. in serum samples and multilevel logistic regression analysis identified factors associated with leptospirosis seropositivity.

Results A total of 737 workers from 142 slaughterhouses were recruited. The seroprevalence of antibodies to Leptospira spp. was 13.4% (95% CI 11.1% to 16.1%). Risk factors included: having wounds (OR 3.1; 95% CI 1.5 to 6.1); smoking (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1 to 2.9); eating at work (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.2 to 3.6); cleaning the offal (OR 5.1; 95% CI 1.8 to 15.0); and having a borehole for personal water use (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.1 to 4.7). At the slaughterhouse level, risk factors included having a roof (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.2 to 5.6) and drawing water from a well (OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.2 to 4.0). Protective factors included working in slaughterhouses where antemortem inspection was conducted (OR 0.6; 95% CI 0.4 to 1.0) and where workers wore protective aprons (OR 0.4; 95% CI 0.2 to 0.7).

Conclusions This is the first report of leptospirosis seropositivity in slaughterhouse workers in Kenya. Potential risk factors were identified and this information can be used to educate workers regarding their disease risks and ways to prevent or reduce transmission.

  • Leptospirosis
  • Slaughterhouse

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2016-103895

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter Follow Elizabeth Cook at @annievet1 and Eric Fèvre at @ZoonoticDisease

    • Contributors EAJC designed and implemented the study. EMF, SK and BMdCB assisted with study design. LFT and WAdG assisted with implementation of the study. EAJC led the data analysis with support from all authors. EAJC and EMF obtained funding for the study. All authors made contributions to conception, design, and revision of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

    • Funding The Medical Research Council (MRC) and an Innovation Initiative Grant (GR000154) from the University of Edinburgh supported EAJC. The Biotechnology and Biological Research Council (BBSRC) supported LFT and WAdG. BMdeCB received core strategic funding from the BBSRC. The Wellcome Trust (085308) supported EMF and the People, Animals and their Zoonoses (‘PAZ’). Support was also received from the CGIAR Research Programme on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The authors acknowledge the CGIAR Fund Donors (http://www.cgiar.org/who-we-are/cgiar-fund/fund-donors-2). The Busia laboratory is currently supported by the BBSRC, the Department for International Development (DFID), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the MRC, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), under the Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (ZELS) programme, grant reference BB/L019019/1.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Ethics approval Ethical approval for this study was granted by the Kenya Medical Research Institute Ethical Review Committee (SCC Protocol 2086). Individual informed consent was obtained from each participant.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.