Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33173153›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2020

High incidence of asymptomatic leptospirosis among urban sanitation workers from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.

Mohammad Saffree Jeffree, Daisuke Mori, Nur Athirah Yusof, Azman Bin Atil, Khamisah Awang Lukman, Rafidah Othman, Mohd Rohaizat Hassan, Lela Suut, Kamruddin Ahmed

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Leptospirosis.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2025
    Review
  4. Review
  5. UnveilingFrontiers in public health · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Mohammad Saffree JeffreeDepartment of Community and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Daisuke MoriBorneo Medical and Health Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Nur Athirah YusofBiotechnology Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Azman Bin AtilDepartment of Community and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Khamisah Awang LukmanDepartment of Community and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Rafidah OthmanBorneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Mohd Rohaizat HassanDepartment of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 56000, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Lela SuutFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Kamruddin AhmedBorneo Medical and Health Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. ahmed@ums.edu.my.
Universiti of Malaysia Sabah · MYNational University of Malaysia · MYUniversiti Malaysia Sarawak · MY

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a public health challenge in Sabah State of Malaysian Borneo. Rapid urbanization, rural-to-urban migration, and undocumented immigration in Sabah have increased the pressure on the urban garbage disposal system. Rodents and other small animals thrive under these conditions. We hypothesized that urban sanitation workers would be at risk of developing leptospirosis. In total, 303 urban sanitation workers with a mean age of 42.6 years were enrolled in this study. The serum samples collected from these workers were subjected to the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), PCR and nucleotide sequencing of the amplicons to confirm the presence of Leptospira. The phylogenetic analysis using the neighbor joining method was performed to assess whether they were pathogenic. In this study 43.8% (133/303) of the samples were MAT-seropositive and among them, 29 (21.8%) were positive by PCR. Nucleotide sequencing of the amplicons confirmed the presence of Leptospira. Phylogenetic analysis showed that our strains belonged to the pathogenic group of Leptospira. A high proportion of urban sanitation workers were seropositive for leptospirosis, and a considerable number were PCR positive for Leptospira, thereby indicating asymptomatic infections. Further research is needed to confirm whether this is a transient phenomenon or antibiotic therapy is required.

Indexed as

BorneoFemaleHumansIncidenceLeptospiraLeptospirosisMalaysiaMalePhylogenyPolymerase Chain ReactionSanitation

Identifiers

PMID33173153
PMCPMC7655852
OpenAlexW3104711036

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.