Seroprevalence of certain bacterial and viral infections among the Irula tribal population of Marakkanam, Tamil Nadu state, India.

Abstract

Seroprevalence study in Irula tribe of Marakkanam, Tamil Nadu State was carried out for certain bacterial (typhoid, syphilis and leptospirosis) and viral infection (hanta, hepatitis B and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)). Highest seroprevalence was observed for leptospirosis (61.1%) followed by, hepatitis B virus surface antigen (11.11%), syphilis (9.72%), typhoid (8.33%), hantavirus (6.9%) and HIV (2.77%). The seroprevalence of leptospirosis and hantavirus may be attributed to their professional exposure to rodent that they catch in the open field and the syphilis, hepatitis B and HIV prevalence may be related to their sexual behavior and social customs.