Search

Isac Rodrigues Comia,1– 3,&ast; Leonardo Manuel,1– 3,&ast; Regina Daniel Miambo,3,4 Awa Abdul Carimo,3,5 Percílio da Floca Manjate,3,5 Ana Edith Maholela,3,6 Lucas Raimundo Banze,2,3 Titos Paulo Buene,2,3 Noémia Nhancupe,2,3 Irina M Sousa,3,7 Constance A Benson,8 Robert T Schooley,9 Jahit Sacarlal,2 Emília Virgínia Noormahomed2,3,9 1Department of Research and Extension, Faculty of Health Sciences, Lúrio University, Nampula, Mozambique; 2Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique; 3Mozambique Institute for Health Education and Research (MIHER), Maputo, Mozambique; 4Department of Para-Clinics, Faculty of Veterinary, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique; 5Department of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique; 6Department of Medicine, Maputo Central Hospital, Maputo, Mozambique; 7Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique; 8Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA; 9Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Emília Virgínia Noormahomed, Av. Salvador Allende, 702, Maputo, Mozambique, Tel +258828810907, Fax +25821304684, Email enoormahomed@gmail.comIntroduction: This study aims to determine the baseline seroprevalence of leptospirosis, a zoonotic and neglected disease, in people living with HIV (PWH) in Maputo, Mozambique, and to evaluate the relationship between selected HIV-related factors that might influence risk of coinfection with leptospirosis, such as degree of immunosuppression, as assessed by CD4 cell count, World Health Organization (WHO) HIV/AIDS clinical stage and antiretroviral therapy (ART) intake.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional analysis of 157 PWH, aged over 18 years old, admitted to the Maputo Central Hospital, in Maputo, Mozambique, between March 2020 and October 2021. The study participants were recruited as a convenience sample regardless of the reasons for their admission. We collected sociodemographic and clinical data, including ART and WHO HIV/AIDS clinical stage, and blood for CD4 cell count and detection of Leptospira IgG antibodies using a commercial Kit ab247199 Leptospira IgG ELISA (www.abcam.com/ab247199) with sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 97.3%, respectively. Laboratory testing was performed at the Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University and Laboratory of Clinical Analysis, in Maputo.Results: Participants were aged 18 to 72 years (median age 39 years; SD ± 10.5), the majority were female 100 (63.7%), from urban areas 138 (87.9%), with secondary-level education 80 (51%). The overall seroprevalence of Leptospira IgG antibodies was 40.1%. The median CD4 cell count was 385 cells/μl (02 to 2297; SD ± 378.47). Higher seroprevalence of Leptospira antibodies was found among participants with CD4 cell counts < 250 cells/μl (54.8%), WHO HIV/AIDS stage IV (70.2%) and those on ART (92%), though there were no statistically significant differences between groups with and without Leptospira antibodies.Conclusion: Our study confirmed that Leptospira antibodies are highly prevalent in PWH in Maputo; however, Leptospira infection was not associated with the degree of immunosuppression, WHO HIV/AIDS clinical stage, or the use of ART. Our data support the need for routine screening for leptospirosis in PWH in Mozambique. Future studies are warranted to characterize the incidence and outcomes of symptomatic leptospirosis in this patient population and to identify circulating serovars and species in the country and region, as well as the implicated reservoirs.Keywords: leptospirosis, co-infection Leptospira and HIV, Leptospira IgG, Mozambique

Background: Leptospirosis is an occupational, neglected febrile disease of bacterial origin transmitted between humans and animals. In this manuscript we summarize available data on Leptospira infection in HIV uninfected and in people living with HIV from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, identifying gaps in knowledge and recommend future research priorities., Methodology: Articles published between 1990 and 2021 were accessed by an online search of Google Scholar and Medline/PubMed performed between February 2020 and July 2022. The STATA program was used for the Meta-analysis. Pooled prevalence values with 95% confidence intervals and heterogeneity were determined., Results: Thirty studies from eight SADC countries, reporting the prevalence on Leptospira were reviewed. A pooled prevalence of 19% (CI: 13-25%), a heterogeneity level of 96% and index score ranging from 2 to 9 was determined. Only four (4) studies reported HIV co-infection status. Three species of Leptospira (Leptospira interrogans (4), L. kirschneri (3), Leptospira borgpetersenii (1) and 23 serogroups were identified. The most frequently reported serogroups were Icterohaemorrhagiae (13), Grippotyphosa and Australis (10) followed by Sejroe (8)., Conclusion: Studies on human leptospirosis in the SADC region are scarce, especially in people living with HIV. Additional studies aimed at determining the prevalence and the role of the pathogen in people living with HIV, including detailed clinical, molecular and demographic data are recommended., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.)

Hydatid disease is a parasitic zoonosis caused by genotypes of the genus Echinococcus . This disease inflicts economic loses in livestock and cause public health burden in resource poor mostly in developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and identity of the genotypes responsible for hydatid cysts in cattle, goats and pigs slaughtered at selected abattoirs of southern provinces of Mozambique. Cysts were collected from liver and lungs and hydatid confirmation was made by cystic membrane observation and visualization of protoscoleces by light microscope. Thirty-two hydatid cysts from 817 cattle and two from 68 pigs were collected from local slaughterhouses and slabs. DNA was extracted from protoscoleces of each cyst together with the cystic membrane and amplified based on the mitochondrial subunit 1 of the cox1 and nad1 gene. The overall prevalence of hydatid cysts was 3.9% in cattle, 2.9% in pigs and none of the goats were found with cysts. All cysts collected from cattle and pigs were identified as Echinococcus ortleppi (G5) with a minimum homology of 99% on BLAST analysis. Our results confirm the presence of E. ortleppi in cattle and pigs in southern Mozambique at a low prevalence and further studies are recommended to determine the risk factors favoring the transmission of this zoonotic parasite in the resource-poor livestock farming communities of this region., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no competing interest., (© Indian Society for Parasitology 2021.)