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Leptospirosis, which is caused by pathogenic spirochetes of the genus Leptospira, is a zoonotic disease of global importance and an emerging health problem. We studied patients suspected of having leptospirosis in Kamphaeng Phet Province, Thailand. Of 106 patients with suspected leptospirosis evaluated at the provincial hospital, 69 (65%) were confirmed positive (titer 
1:800 or 4-fold increase in titer) by microscopic agglutination testing. Seventy-seven percent (53) of the cases occurred during the rainy season (June through November). Sera reacted predominantly with Bratislava, Autumnalis, and Icterohaemorrhagiae serovars. The screening Leptospira Dip-S-Ticks test had poor sensitivity (32%) but a specificity of 100% compared with a Leptospira IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Leptospirosis was found to be a frequently confirmed cause of morbidity in Kamphaeng Phet Province in those suspected of having the illness.
Received May 31, 2006. Accepted for publication August 29, 2006.
Acknowledgments: We thank Kittinun Hussem and Duangrat Mongkolsirichaikul for expert laboratory work and Tipawan Kungvanrattana for data entry and database management. We also thank Anoopa Sharma (deceased) for compilation of data.
Financial support: This work was supported by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.
Disclaimer: The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the U.S. Army or the U.S. Department of Defense. The use of trade names is for identification only and does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Government or the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand.
* Address correspondence to Clinton K. Murray, Brooke Army Medical Center, 3851 Roger Brooke Drive, 7 East/MCHE-MDI, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234. E-mail: Clinton.Murray{at}amedd.army.mil
Authors’ addresses: Khin Saw Aye Myint, Robert V. Gibbons, Ratana Sithiprasasna, and Mammen P. Mammen, Jr., Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, 315/6 Rajvithi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand, Telephone: 66-2-644-4674, Fax: 66-2-644-4760. Clinton K. Murray and Duane R. Hospenthal, Brooke Army Medical Center, 3851 Roger Brooke Drive, 7 East/MCHE-MDI, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234, Telephone: 210-916-3847, Fax: 210-916-0388. Kamchai Rungsimanphaiboon, Kamphaeng Phet Provincial Hospital, Kamphaeng Phet Province 62000, Thailand, Telephone: 66-55-714-223-5 extension 1101, Fax: 66-55-713-043. Witaya Supornpun, Kamphaeng Phet Provincial Public Health Office, Kamphaeng Phet Province 62000, Thailand, Telephone: 66-55-710-201, Fax: 66-55-710-200. Michael R. Gray, Department of Defense Veterinary Food Analysis Diagnostic Laboratory, 2472 Schofield Road, Fort Sam Houston TX 78234, Telephone: 210-295-4736, Fax: 210-295-4612. Chusak Pimgate, Kamphaeng Phet–Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences Virology Research Unit (KAVRU), Kamphaeng Phet Provincial Hospital, Muang District, Kamphaeng Phet Province 62000, Thailand, Telephone: 66-55-713-734, Fax: 66-55-715-967.
Reprint requests: Clinton K. Murray, Brooke Army Medical Center, 3851 Roger Brooke Drive, 7 East/MCHE-MDI, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234, Telephone: 210-916-3847, Fax: 210-916-0388.
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