A sero-epidemiological study on canine leptospirosis was conducted in house, stray, farm and hunting dogs, as well as in suspect cases of clinical canine leptospirosis. Serum samples were collected from apparently healthy (vaccinated and nonvaccinated), house dogs. A questionnaire was administered to the owners to elicit information on risk factors for leptospirosis. The microscopic agglutination test was used to screen for leptospirosis using 17 international serovars. Reciprocal titres of between 100 and <800 were considered as evidence of past exposure while reciprocal titres of 800 or greater were classified as suggestive of acute/current infection. Of a total of 419 serum samples tested, 61 (14.6%) were seropositive for Leptospira agglutinins, 23 (5.5%) had mixed infections and 16 (3.8%) had current infection. Amongst 50 suspected cases of clinical leptospirosis, 24 (48.0%) were seropositive and only 13 (26.0%) had current infection compared with 10 (6.3%) and three (1.9%) of 160 apparently healthy house dogs respectively. The difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05; v 2 ). Twelve (25.5%) of 47 hunting dogs, 10 (20.4%) of 49 farm dogs and five (4.4%) of 113 stray dogs were seropositive (P < 0.05; v 2 ). Overall, a total of nine serovars were detected with serovars mankarso, icterohaemorrhagiae RGA, autumnalis and copenhageni being involved in 29 (47.5%), 20 (32.8%), 25 (41.0%) and 10 (16.4%) respectively in 61 seropositive dogs (P < 0.05; v 2 ). Serovar mankarso was most predominant in seropositive apparently healthy dogs, 37.8% (14/37), suspected clinical cases of leptospirosis, 62.5% (15/24) compared with serovar icterohaemorrhagiae with a frequency of 21.6% (8/37) and 50.0% (12/24), the difference being statistically significant (P < 0.05; v 2 ). Although all vaccines used for prevention of canine leptospirosis in the country contain serovars canicola and icterohaemorrhagiae, serovar mankarso was mostly associated with infection and disease and may be a good candidate for inclusion in the vaccine used locally. The public health risk posed to owners of dogs infected with Leptospira cannot be over-emphasized considering the zoonotic nature of the disease.

Leptospirosis is a febrile zoonosis of worldwide distribution. A latex agglutination assay was evaluated in two studies, the first using a panel of well-characterized sera from patients with leptospirosis and from patients with other disease states and the second, a prospective hospital-based study, evaluating sera from 186 consecutive patients admitted to hospital with acute febrile illness. The confirmed leptospirosis serum panel included paired acute-and convalescent-phase specimens from 40 cases, of which 34 gave positive latex tests (case sensitivity, 85%; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 70 to 94%). The other diseases represented in the panel of 112 specimens from nonleptospirosis patients included autoimmune diseases, brucellosis, dengue, melioidosis, malaria, syphilis, toxoplasmosis, viral hepatitis, and a number of other viral infections. The specificity of latex agglutination using this panel was 81% (95% CI, 73 to 87%). Among the patients with acute febrile illness, there were 25 cases of leptospirosis and 161 patients with other diagnoses. The sensitivity and specificity of latex agglutination in this group were 88% (95% CI, 72 to 97%) and 98% (95% CI, 95 to 100%), respectively. In this evaluation, the two distinct groups of specimens gave similar results for sensitivity, but specificity was different in each study. The sensitivity and specificity observed for the hospital study were similar to those obtained in evaluations of other rapid tests in the same population. The results of this study suggest that multiple evaluations of new diagnostic assays should be performed, because performance characteristics may vary in different populations.

Introduction: Microbes such as Salmonella, Campylobacter and S. aureus have been implicated in Foodborne disease outbreaks (FBDOs) worldwide, yet information on their occurrence in Barbados is scanty. The purpose of this study was to determine the aetiological agents, food vehicles, locations and peak seasons of FBDOs in Barbados; assess the quality of epidemiological investigations; and identify deficiencies in food production practices and laboratory detection. Methodology: A search of FBDOs occurring in Barbados between 1998-2009 was conducted among published and unpublished literature sources and reports. The search terms included the keywords “foodborne disease,” “outbreaks” and “Barbados”. Results: During the period 1998 to 2009, there were 24 foodborne outbreaks, 215 cases of illness, one hospitalisation and no deaths. Overall, 37.5% of outbreaks were associated with hotels/resorts. Salmonella Enteritidis phage type 8 was most commonly implicated with eggs and poultry being the primary vehicles. Three outbreak reports were available for assessment and revealed that there were deficiencies in the outbreak investigations. These reports also recorded high levels of food contamination with indicator organisms, suggesting that improvements in food hygiene and production practices were required. Conclusions: The number of FBDOs is low in comparison to developed countries. However, the data was likely affected by under-reporting and inadequacies in the outbreak investigations and laboratory detection. Improvements in these areas would lead to not only better detection and characterisation of FBDOs in Barbados but improved food safety control measures.

In Barbados, tourism is a significant pillar of the economy; however, there has been no research to document the food safety concerns of tourists. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to survey visitors' perceptions of food safety to understand their concerns, influences, and experiences with foodborne illness. A descriptive cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted among 398 tourists, using stratified random sampling. Visitors were surveyed at two departure ports, the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) (n = 240) and the Bridgetown Cruise Terminal (BCT) (n = 158). Descriptive statistics included frequency distributions. Cross tabulations were performed to determine associations among key variables, and logistic regression analyses were used to report predictor variables at a significance level of P ≤ 0.05. In both surveys (GAIA and BCT), most respondents had a positive perception of food safety (75.8 and 99.4%) and a low frequency of foodborne illness (6.0 and 0.6%), respectively. Most visitors perceived the likelihood of acquiring food poisoning as a result of eating food from local retailers as “not common,” and more visitors were “not concerned” about food hazards than concerned. Significant associations (P ≤ 0.05) were found among sociodemographic parameters such as age, gender, ethnicity, and education and three variables of risk perception. The findings in this study can be used to guide risk communication and food safety and risk management within the hospitality industry, and they add to the body of knowledge surrounding consumer risk perceptions.