The Investigation of Significant Leptospirosis Hotspots during the Initial COVID-19 Pandemic in the City of Jakarta, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

Leptospirosis is a common bacterial infection caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp.in tropical region, including in Indonesia. During the first year of COVID-19 pandemic, Jakarta reported a significant increase in leptospirosis cases. A study was conducted to analyze the distribution of leptospirosis and to identify hotspots of the leptospirosis. Leptospirosis notifications for the period of January to December 2020 were collected from the online surveillance database provided by the Provincial Health Office of Jakarta. Global and local spatial clustering at the village level across Jakarta was examined using Moran’s I and local indicators for spatial association (LISA). In 2020, total of 207 people infected by Leptospira spp. The highest number was recorded in January (n=142), accounting for 68.5% of the total reports over the period studied. The incidence was geographically dissimilar at village-level with the highest rates was observed in the west of the city. Moran’s I analysis demonstrates that leptospirosis incidence was significantly clustered (I = 0.191, p-value = 0.001). Total of 19 high-risk clusters in 9 sub-districts were identified and approximately 891,202 people were at higher risk of leptospirosis during the year of 2020. The findings suggest needs an improved disease surveillance to support spatially targeted interventions to control leptospirosis transmission.