Hantavirus and Leptospira are important causes of nonspecific acute febrile syndrome, Meta, Colombia

Introduction

Acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses are fevers lasting less than fourteen days without an evident focus of infection on the initial physical examination or with inconclusive laboratory tests.

Objective

Carry out epidemiological surveillance of the etiology of acute undifferentiated febrile syndrome in the Meta department.

Methods

A descriptive, prospective cross-sectional study was carried out between February 2021 and June 2023 in a first-level hospital in the department of Meta, Colombia. All enrolled patients underwent routine hematology and blood biochemistry examinations. RT-qPCR was performed for Dengue and serology for laboratory diagnoses using ELISA and MAT for Hantavirus and Leptospirosis, respectively. A descriptive and bivariate analysis was performed using SPSS vr 23.0.

Results

Of the study's total of one hundred patients, 14 % showed antibodies against hantavirus IgG, of which two were seroconverted. In addition, a risk factor OR = 8.3 (CI = 1.8–38.4) for Hantavirus was found in those patients who had contact with farm animals. Regarding leptospirosis, 3 % of the sera agglutinated with titers greater than 1:400, resulting in a primary infection; 11 % of the sera presented agglutination with titers no greater than 1:200 as exposure to leptospirosis. The bivariate analysis showed an OR = 2.4; CI = 0.75–7.4 with water recreational activities in the last 30 days before the onset of symptoms.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates the importance of Hantavirus, Dengue, and leptospirosis as a cause of acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses. Coinfections are frequent in one of the tropical areas of Colombia, so it is crucial to establish a more precise diagnosis.