[Correspondence] Leptospirosis deaths in children in the Amazon: syndemic inequities
We write to highlight an urgent, yet preventable public health tragedy unfolding in the Ecuadorian Amazon. In May, 2025, eight Indigenous Achuar children from Taisha—an Amazonic village from the Morona Santiago province—died from leptospirosis,1 a zoonotic disease transmitted through contact with contaminated water or soil. The outbreak involved at least 46 symptomatic individuals,2 some with confirmed co-infections of dengue virus and Salmonella spp.3
We write to highlight an urgent, yet preventable public health tragedy unfolding in the Ecuadorian Amazon. In May, 2025, eight Indigenous Achuar children from Taisha—an Amazonic village from the Morona Santiago province—died from leptospirosis,1 a zoonotic disease transmitted through contact with contaminated water or soil. The outbreak involved at least 46 symptomatic individuals,2 some with confirmed co-infections of dengue virus and Salmonella spp.3
