Leishmania in synanthropic rodents (Rattus rattus): new evidence for the urbanization of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis

Abstract

Leishmania in synanthropic rodents (Rattus rattus):new evidence for the urbanization of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis AbstractThis study aimed to detect parasites from Leishmania genus, to determine the prevalence of anti-Leishmania spp. antibodies, to identify circulating species of the parasite, and to determine epidemiological variables associated with infection in rats caught in urban area of Londrina, Paraná, Brazil. Animal capture was carried out from May to December 2006, serological and molecular methods were performed. DNA was extracted from total blood, and nested-PCR, targeting SSu rRNA from Leishmania genus, was performed in triplicate. The positive samples were sequenced twice by Sanger method to species determination. In total, 181 rodents were captured, all were identified as Rattus rattus and none showed clinical alterations. Forty-one of the 176 (23.3%) animals were positive for Leishmania by ELISA and 6/181 (3.3%) were positive by IFAT. Nine of 127 tested animals (7.1%) were positive by PCR; seven were identified as L.

Canine Leishmaniasis: An Overview of the Current Status and Strategies for Control

“…About 70 species of mammals, including humans, are considered vertebrate hosts of different species of Leishmania around the world, and some of them are reservoirs of the parasite in nature [ 1 ]. Although the natural infection in rodents [ 3 , 4 ] and canids [ 5 – 10 ] is more common, the parasite is able to infect xenarthrans [ 11 , 12 ], hyraxes [ 13 ], marsupials [ 14 ], chiropterans [ 15 – 17 ], lagomorphs [ 18 – 21 ], procyonids [ 11 , 22 ], felids [ 23 – 26 ], Perissodactyla [ 27 , 28 ], and primates [ 11 , 29 ]. Determining the precise role played by each host in the transmission cycle remains a challenge.…”

Canine visceral leishmaniasis in Londrina, Paraná - investigation and case report

“…A study published in 2017, concerned with synanthropic rodents from the municipality of Londrina, reported a specimen of the species Rattus rattus harboring the protozoan L.(L.) infantum in blood (CALDART et al, 2017). Although the present case cannot be confirmed, as autochthonous together with the discovery in the roof rat, we suggest that it is necessary to disseminate the present report to serve as a warning to veterinarians and other public health professionals in the northern region of Paraná to be attentive to suspicious cases and to not fail to investigate these cases to the end.…”

“…Approximately 58,000 new human cases of VL are reported annually in the world; Brazil annually reports an average of 3,481 cases with an average mortality rate of 7.2% (ALVAR et al, 2012). The transmission conditions of leishmaniasis are continually changing in relation to environmental, demographic and human behavioral factors that lead to changes in the geographical reach and density of vectors and reservoirs, which increase human and animal exposure to infected sandflies (CALDART et al, 2017).…”

American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis in an endemic municipality in the North of Minas Gerais State: spatial analysis and socio-environmental factors

“…Therefore, it is possible that rodents may be serving as a constant source of food and infection for sandflies, contributing to the maintenance of a peridomestic transmissioncycle, because they are the main hosts and reservoirs of Leishmania species that cause ATL 32 . In Londrina, Parana State, researchers detected synanthropic rodents naturally infected by Leishmania amazonensis, which provides new evidence of the urbanization of this etiological agent 33 . Thus, it is important to conduct studies that seek to investigate Leishmania spp.…”