Medical Health Articles

Global Risk - Infection By Deadly Bacterium Can Be Prevented With Proper Sanitation

As urban sprawl spreads throughout the globe, so do poor urban ghettos and the infectious diseases that are perpetrated by unsanitary slum conditions. Weill Cornell researchers stationed in the urban slums of Salvador, Brazil, have discovered that certain unhealthy living conditions lead to transmission of leptospirosis, a life-threatening disease caused by the bacterium Leptospira. Over a half-million people are infected, killing 1 in 10, each year. The disease, which is characterized by fever, abdominal pain, and can lead to severe pulmonary bleeding, kidney damage and meningitis, is transmitted through animal contact (commonly rat urine).

Dr. Albert Ko, senior author of the study and physician-scientist from the Division of International Medicine and Infectious Disease at Weill Cornell Medical College, and his research team stationed at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation/Brazilian Ministry of Health in thecity of Salvador, tested a group of 3,171 slum residents for Leptospira antibodies - a marker of past infection with the bacterium.

The researchers identified several variables that raised the risk of infection within those who tested positive for past infection, including persons living at the bottom of valleys (raising flood risk), those around open sewers or near accumulated refuse, and those who saw rats or lived in the presence of chickens. The scientists also determined that socio-economic factors contributed to risk: an increase of only $1 (USD) per day in per capita household income was associated with a substantial 11 percent decrease in infection risk. The researchers believe that improving sanitation can greatly curb the rate of infection. The study is published in a recent issue of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical College, the medical school of Cornell University. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, education, research and community service. Weill Cornell physician-scientists have been responsible for many medical advances - from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease, the first indication of bone marrow’s critical role in tumor growth, and, most recently, the world’s first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally-conscious brain-injured patient. NewYork-Presbyterian, which is ranked sixth on the U.S.News & World Report list of top hospitals, also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion. Weill Cornell Medical College is the first U.S. medical college to offer a medical degree oversees and maintains a strong global presence in Austria, Brazil, Haiti, Tanzania, Turkey and Qatar.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
Weill Cornell Medical Center

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