Risk Factors and Prediction of Leptospiral Seropositivity Among Dogs and Dog Handlers in Malaysia

Goh, Soon Heng; Ismail, Rosnah; Lau, Seng Fong; Megat Abdul Rani, Puteri Azaziah; Mohd Mohidin, Taznim Begam; Daud, Faiz; Bahaman, Abdul Rani; Khairani-Bejo, Siti; Radzi, Rozanaliza; Khor, Kuan Hua

doi:10.3390/ijerph16091499

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Risk Factors and Prediction of Leptospiral Seropositivity Among Dogs and Dog Handlers in Malaysia

Soon Heng Goh

¹,

Rosnah Ismail

²,

Seng Fong Lau

¹,

Puteri Azaziah Megat Abdul Rani

Taznim Begam Mohd Mohidin

⁴,

²,

⁵,

⁵,

¹ and

^1,*

Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia

Occupational Health Unit, Community Health Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600 UKM, Malaysia

Department of Companion Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia

⁴

Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia

⁵

Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(9), 1499; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16091499

Received: 8 March 2019 / Revised: 3 April 2019 / Accepted: 5 April 2019 / Published: 28 April 2019

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Abstract

This study determined the potential risk factors that may contribute to seropositivity among dogs and dog handlers from working dog and dog shelter institutions. Data was collected from dogs (n = 266) and dog handlers (n = 161) using a standardised guided questionnaire. Serum obtained from the dogs and dog handlers was tested using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). A logistic regression analysis was used to predict leptospiral seropositivity of dogs and dog handlers based on potential risk factors. A total of 22.2% of dogs and 21.7% of dog handlers were seropositive. The significant predictors for the dogs’ seropositivity were presence of rats (OR = 4.61 (95% CI: 1.05, 20.33), p = 0.043) and shared common area (OR = 5.12 (95% CI: 1.94, 13.46), p = 0.001) within the organisation. Significant predictor for dog handler seropositivity was contact time with the dogs of more than six hours/day (OR = 3.28 (95% CI: 1.28, 8.40), p = 0.013) after controlling for the effect of other risk factors such as small mammal contact, rat infestation at home, flooding at housing area (within three months) and urban locality. The exposure to various disease sources identified poses risk to dogs and dog handlers. Risk could be reduced with adequate application of protection at work while handling dogs and thus limiting contact with these sources and reducing exposure to infection. View Full-Text

Keywords: seroprevalence; MAT; leptospirosis; dog handlers; working dogs; shelter dog

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Goh, S.H.; Ismail, R.; Lau, S.F.; Megat Abdul Rani, P.A.; Mohd Mohidin, T.B.; Daud, F.; Bahaman, A.R.; Khairani-Bejo, S.; Radzi, R.; Khor, K.H. Risk Factors and Prediction of Leptospiral Seropositivity Among Dogs and Dog Handlers in Malaysia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 1499. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16091499

AMA Style

Goh SH, Ismail R, Lau SF, Megat Abdul Rani PA, Mohd Mohidin TB, Daud F, Bahaman AR, Khairani-Bejo S, Radzi R, Khor KH. Risk Factors and Prediction of Leptospiral Seropositivity Among Dogs and Dog Handlers in Malaysia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16(9):1499. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16091499

Chicago/Turabian Style

Goh, Soon H., Rosnah Ismail, Seng F. Lau, Puteri A. Megat Abdul Rani, Taznim B. Mohd Mohidin, Faiz Daud, Abdul R. Bahaman, Siti Khairani-Bejo, Rozanaliza Radzi, and Kuan H. Khor. 2019. "Risk Factors and Prediction of Leptospiral Seropositivity Among Dogs and Dog Handlers in Malaysia" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 9: 1499. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16091499

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Risk Factors and Prediction of Leptospiral Seropositivity Among Dogs and Dog Handlers in Malaysia

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