Professional paper

Exposure of slaughter-house-workers to infection with leptospirae

I. Zaharija ; Zavod i khlinika za zarazne bolesti Veterinarskog fakulteta Sveučilišta 11 Zagrebu Bolnica i katedra za zarazne bolesti u Zagrebu
J. Fališevac ; Zavod i khlinika za zarazne bolesti Veterinarskog fakulteta Sveučilišta 11 Zagrebu Bolnica i katedra za zarazne bolesti u Zagrebu

Abstract

A serologically proved case of Weil's disease with severe symptoms and a typhus like rash is reported. The patient was a butcher employed in the Zagreb Slaughter-House and was treated in the Fever Hospital, Zagreb (Head Prof. Dr. F. Mihaljević). The history of any previous leptospirosis and sera for the agglutination-Iysis reaction were taken from the other 89 workers of the same slaughter-house. None of the 89 persons had a history of a previous leptospirosis-like disease, but in 27 (30%) of them residual antibodies (agglutinations-lysins) for leptospiral antigens, ranging from 1:100 to 1:4000, mostly in lower titres, were found. The percentage of persons with positive reactions was lower than the percentage of the peasants in an area where leptospirosis was common. This was 54 percent as reported in a previous paper. The meaning of these positive titres is discussed. A single serological examination for leptospiroses gives only rough information on exposure to leptospiral infection; for an exact inquiry repeated examination of the workers during several years would be necessary. From the single examination made it is not possible to say whether a positive titre means previous disease or subclinical infection. The incidence of leptospiroses in slaughter-house-workers has been discussed and the frequency of Weil's disease in P. R. Croatia and in some other countries has been shown in Table 3. Although leptospiroses are common in Croatia leptospirosis due to L. icterohaemorrhagiae, mostly the anicteric form, is rare, and had accounted for only 2.3% of all our casses of leptospiroses between 1950-1953. The incidence of leptospiroses in a smaller slaughter-house near Zagreb, with poorer hygienic conditions, was more frequent than in the Zagreb Slaughter-House where the reported case occurred.

Keywords

Hrčak ID:

186515

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/186515

Publication date:

19.9.1955.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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