CC BY-SA 2.0
(Cayenne, 30. August 2022, to serve).- There is an increased risk of contracting zoonoses such as leptospirosis, especially for illegally working mine workers. In their everyday lives, they are exposed to various risk factors and live outside the medical care structures. Leptospirosis is an infectious bacterial disease that occurs in many countries in South America and can cause fatal damage to vital organs such as the liver, brain, lungs or heart.
High infection rates
The Study Zoonoses and Gold mining was in the specialist magazine in August 2022 Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases released. Along the border river Maroni, which separates French Guiana and Suriname, testing of 380 illegal miners for leptospirosis revealed a seroprevalence of 31 percent (2015) and 28.1 percent (2019), respectively. The seroprevalence indicates the frequency of specific antibodies and refers to an existing or past infection. In addition, a prevalence of 2.9 percent for Q fever and 2.4 percent for an active skin lesion due to leishmaniasis was determined. Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. Q fever is caused by bacteria found in sheep and goats. In the case of yellow fever, the fourth disease tested, 93.6% of miners reported being vaccinated. The laboratory tests confirmed that 97.9% had neutralizing antibodies. According to the researchers, this reduces the risk of a yellow fever epidemic. 95.5 percent of the test subjects were Brazilian workers, mostly between 30 and 44 years old, male and with little school education. As the author of the report Maylis Douine explains, leptospirosis pathogens enter the body through skin lesions, for example through contaminated water contaminated with urine from infected rats and other mammals. The symptoms of leptospirosis are varied and range from joint pain to red eyes, nausea and diarrhea to a high fever. “The symptoms of leptospirosis are similar to those of malaria, so people are often mistreated. Half of the workers were from the state of Maranhão in Brazil. We know that the workers came into contact with microorganisms, but we cannot deduce where they got infected,” continued Douine, who works with the Clinical Research Center Antilles-Guiana.
coincidence of various risk factors
As the study shows, many infectious microorganisms lead to a so-called zoonosis. The term refers to diseases that are transmitted from animal to human and have their origin in the wild. The research’s recommendation is that “particular attention should be paid to vulnerable populations that are in direct contact with the tropical ecosystem, are remote from the supply system and therefore do not fall under the radar of the usual surveillance system.” favor the emerging infections, go with illegal Mining together, for example deforestation (which facilitates the emergence of breeding grounds for vectors such as mosquitoes), close contact with nature and poor sanitary conditions. The study estimates that 12,000 people are employed in illegal gold prospecting in French Guiana, including many Brazilians who pass through the Guiana shield. The region includes the Guianas, Suriname, and parts of Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia. Many illegal mining activities are concentrated here, which has a significant impact on the health of these population groups. Roben Menezes, researcher at the Federal University of Amapá: “Many are looking for a better life and start mining without any medical care. Their work exposes them to mercury contamination, occupational accidents, zoonoses, contact with venomous animals and they are susceptible to sexually transmitted infections.” In a study of 253 people, Menezes found malaria in more than 63 percent of the participants. Many worked in illegal mining and came from a Brazilian community bordering French Guiana. “These workers are far from medical care and are reluctant to seek medical assistance, increasing the likelihood of transmission,” Menezes said. In addition, the lack of care in the French-Guyanese area means that those affected first have to go to Brazil to be treated.
According to Martha Suárez-Mutis, co-author of the two articles and a researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, other diseases might also become a serious health risk and further research is needed. She cites leishmaniasis as one of the most frequently occurring diseases in the environment of the illegally working miners in the region. According to the 2022 study, while the reported incidence is low, there are persistent reports of miners having a history of getting sick and accessing medicines in illegal markets.
Zoonoses threaten illegal miners von News Pool Latin America is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 international.
