Volume 21, Number 4—April 2015
Dispatch
High Seroprevalence of Antibodies against Spotted Fever and Scrub Typhus Bacteria in Patients with Febrile Illness, Kenya
Table
Demographic characteristics of febrile patients tested for seropositivity for SFG and STG rickettsioses, Kenya*
Characteristic | SFG, no. positive/no. tested (%) | OR (95% CI) | STG, no. positive/no. tested (%) | OR (95% CI) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sex | ||||
F | 96/1,094 (9) | 1.0 | 43/694 (6) | 1.0 |
M | 116/1,131 (10) | 1.2 (0.9–1.6) | 24/707 (3) | 0.5 (0.3–0.9†* |
Age, y | ||||
<5 | 41/1,107 (4) | 1.0 | 17/687 (3) | 1.0 |
5–12 | 62/622 (10) | 2.9 (1.9–4.4)† | 29/423 (6) | 2.9 (1.5–5.7) |
13–26 | 63/290 (22) | 7.2 (4.7–11.2)† | 10/ 166 (6) | 2.5 (1.0–6.0)† |
>26 | 46/206 (22) | 7.5 (4.6–12.1)† | 11/125 (9) | 3.8 (1.6–8.8)† |
Animal contact | ||||
Goats | ||||
No contact | 205/2,188 (9) | 1.0 | 60/1,372 (4) | 1.0 |
Contact | 7/37 (19) | 2.3 (0.8– 5.3) | 7/29 (24) | 7.0 (2.4–17.7)† |
Cows | ||||
No contact | 207/2,187 (10) | 1.0 | 65/1,377 (5) | 1.0 |
Contact | 5/38 (13) | 1.4 (0.4−3.8) | 2/24 (8) | 1.8 (0.2–7.7) |
Donkeys | ||||
No contact | 211/2,223 (10) | 1.0 | 67/1,399 (5) | 1.0 |
Contact | 1/2 (50) | 9.5 (0.1–748.8) | 0/2 (0) | 0 (0–38.7) |
Cats | ||||
No contact | 203/2,106 (10) | 1.0 | 66/1,315 (5) | 1.0 |
Contact | 9/119 (8) | 0.8 (0.3–1.5) | 1/86 (1) | 0.2 (0.05–1.3) |
Sheep | ||||
No contact | 212/2,218 (10) | 1.0 | 67/1,387 (5) | 1.0 |
Contact | 0/7 (0) | 0 (0–5.2) | 0/14 (0) | 0.0 (0–5.5) |
Dogs | ||||
No contact | 210/2,146 (10) | 1.0 | 67/1,398 (5) | 1.0 |
Contact | 2/79 (3) | 0.2 (0.03–0.9) | 0/3 (0) | 0.0 (0–11) |
Camels | ||||
No contact | 196/2,173 (9) | 1.0 | 67/1,365 (5) | 1.0 |
Contact | 16/52 (31) | 4.5 (2.3–8.5)† | 0/36 (0) | 0.0 (0.0–2.1) |
*SFG, spotted fever group; STG, scrub typhus group; OR, odds ratio.
†Seroprevalence for both spotted fever and scrub typhus increased with age; there were significant differences (p<0.05) between those <5 years of age and those in older age groups for SFG and those >12 years of age for STG. Exposure to SFG and STG were more likely in patients who had contact with dogs and camels for SFG and goats for STG (p<0.05). OR, odds ratio.