Correction: Epidemiology of Imported Leishmaniasis in Italy: Implications for a European Endemic Country

Muccio, Trentina Di; Scalone, Aldo; Bruno, Antonella; Marangi, M; Grande, Romualdo; Armignacco, Orlando; Gradoni, Luigi; Gramiccia, Marina

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0134885

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…In Italy, imported leishmaniosis cases are mainly associated with international travellers and/or refugees coming from endemic zones, and consist of chronic forms diagnosed many months after entering the country [7][8]. Noteworthy, anthroponotic species such as Leishmania tropica and Leishmania donovani are included among the causative agents of imported human cases, and the risk of introduction and/or wider establishment of these species into Europe is higher since suitable sand fly vectors are present [3,6,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although no autochthonous cutaneous leishmaniosis cases (ACL) caused by L. tropica have been detected in south-western Europe so far, Sicily is an area potentially susceptible to the introduction of this protozoan species due to its proximity to northern Morocco, an emerging ACL area [15], and to the large migratory flow of people between the two territories. As matter of fact, the flow of immigrants from endemic regions of North Africa and the Middle East, together with the rising number of reports of L. tropica human infections in Italy [6,7,[16][17], could constitute the first step in its potential spread in Sicily and subsequently across other areas of southern Europe where the competent vector has been described [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identification of trypanosomatids and blood feeding preferences of phlebotomine sand fly species common in Sicily, Southern Italy

et al. 2020

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In this study, the presence of Leishmania DNA and blood feeding sources in phlebotomine sand fly species commonly present in Sicily were investigated. A total of 1,866 female sand flies including 176 blood fed specimens were sampled over two seasons in five selected sites in Sicily (southern Italy). Sergentomyia minuta (n = 1,264) and Phlebotomus perniciousus (n = 594) were the most abundant species at all the sites, while three other species from the genus Phlebotomus (i.e., P. sergenti n = 4, P. perfiliewi n = 3 and P. neglectus n = 1) were only sporadically captured. Twenty-eight out of the 1,866 (1.5%) sand flies tested positive for Leishmania spp. Leishmania tarentolae DNA was identified in 26 specimens of S. minuta, while the DNA of Leishmania donovani complex was detected in a single specimen each of S. minuta and P. perniciosus. Interestingly, seven S. minuta specimens (0.4%) tested positive for reptilian Trypanosoma sp. Blood sources were successfully identified in 108 out of 176 blood fed females. Twenty-seven out of 82 blood sources identified in fed females of P. perniciosus were represented by blood of wild rabbit, S. minuta mainly fed on humans (16/25), while the sole P. sergenti fed specimen took a blood meal on rat. Other vertebrate hosts including horse, goat, pig, dog, chicken, cow, cat and donkey were recognized as blood sources for P. perniciosus and S. minuta, and, surprisingly, no reptilian blood was identified in blood-fed S. minuta specimens. Results of this study agree with the well-known role of P. perniciosus as vector of L. infantum in the western Mediterranean; also, vector feeding preferences herein described support the hypothesis on the involvement of lagomorphs as sylvatic reservoirs of Leishmania. The detection of L. donovani complex in S. minuta, together with the anthropophilic feeding-behaviour herein observed, warrants further research to clarify the capacity of this species in the transmission of pathogens to humans and other animals.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of trypanosomatids and blood feeding preferences of phlebotomine sand fly species common in Sicily, Southern Italy

et al. 2020

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“…In conclusion, our genomic and epidemiologic data uncover a remarkable heterogeneity of L. infantum isolates in Italy, including a hybrid genotype reminiscent to Cypriote strains. The unusual infection pattern of this putative hybrid highlights the public health risk of introducing new Leishmania species due to the increased flow of migrants and tourists from countries where non-European species are endemic [88][89][90]. The risk of active transmission of newly introduced parasite species may be limited by the absence of permissive reservoir hosts or the lack of competent, local Phlebotomus species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Genomic and epidemiological evidence for the emergence of a putativeL. donovani/L. infantumhybrid with unusual epidemiology in Northern Italy

Bruno

Castelli

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Leishmania (L.) infantum is the main causative agent of animal and human leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean basin. Despite its clinical significance, little is known on the genetic diversity of L. infantum parasites circulating in Italy. Here, we apply a comparative genomics approach on seven L. infantum isolates from different hosts (human, dog, cat, marten) and geographic regions (Emilia-Romagna, Sicily, Sardinia) as a first attempt to explore the breadth of parasite genetic heterogeneity in Italy. We revealed important genome instability at karyotype levels, with each isolate presenting a unique aneuploidy profile. Read depth analysis further identified strain-specific changes in gene dosage, which affected important virulence factors most of which are encoded by multi-copy gene arrays, such as amastins or surface antigen-like proteins. SNP-based clustering analysis of these genomes together with over 80 publicly available L. infantum and L. donovani genomes placed the Italian isolates into three geographically distinct clusters, with two isolates grouping with Spanish strains, two isolates grouping with Tunisian strains, and three isolates clustering with putative L. infantum/L. donovani hybrids isolated in Cyprus. As judged by microsatellite profiling of 73 isolates from dogs, sand flies and VL cases, these hybrid isolates are representative of a sub-population of parasites circulating in northeastern Italy that preferentially infects humans, but not dogs. In conclusion, our data uncover a remarkable heterogeneity of L. infantum isolates that indicates different geographic origin, including a novel hybrid-like genotype associated with an unusual infection pattern, placing Italy at the crossroad of Leishmania infection in the Mediterranean region.

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“…Di Muccio et al. [ 10 ] reported a relatively low incidence of leishmaniasis importation into Italy between 1986–2012. Underreporting of imported leishmaniasis seems to be a challenge in other endemic countries of southern Europe; in Greece, only 2.8 % of CL cases from 1998 to 2011 were described with the probability of being imported [ 11 ]; also, limited number of patients were routinely recorded as a similar challenge in Spain [ 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioprospecting marine actinomycetes for antileishmanial drugs: current perspectives and future prospects

Davies-Bolorunduro

Osuolale

Saibu

et al. 2021

Heliyon

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This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

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Correction: Epidemiology of Imported Leishmaniasis in Italy: Implications for a European Endemic Country

Cited by 10 publications

References 1 publication

Identification of trypanosomatids and blood feeding preferences of phlebotomine sand fly species common in Sicily, Southern Italy

Identification of trypanosomatids and blood feeding preferences of phlebotomine sand fly species common in Sicily, Southern Italy

Genomic and epidemiological evidence for the emergence of a putativeL. donovani/L. infantumhybrid with unusual epidemiology in Northern Italy

Bioprospecting marine actinomycetes for antileishmanial drugs: current perspectives and future prospects

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