Assessment of the role of small mammals in the transmission cycle of tegumentary leishmaniasis and first report of natural infection with Leishmania braziliensis in two sigmodontines in northeastern Argentina

Fernández, María Soledad; Fraschina, Jimena; Acardi, Soraya Alejandra; Liotta, Domingo Javier; Lestani, Eduardo Ariel; Giuliani, Magalí Gabriela; Busch, María; Salomón, Oscar Daniel

doi:10.1007/s00436-017-5714-5

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…The Iguazú waterfall area, located in Iguazú Department where the city of Puerto Iguazú is the most important urban area, reported CL outbreaks in 1998 (Puerto Esperanza), 2004 (Urugua-í), and 2005 (Puerto Iguazú) [12,13] and since then, regular cases are recorded every year. These cases are mainly related to deforestation, work forest-related risks, and peridomestic habitat close to the forest edge via the border effect [7,14,15]. Lutzomyia longipalpis was not found in the city of Puerto Iguazú before 2010 when was first found together with VL canine cases [12,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale environmental determinants of Leishmania vectors in the urban-rural context

et al. 2020

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Background In South America, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) are emerging diseases, expanding in the border area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Outbreaks of CL were reported since the 1990s, with Nyssomyia whitmani as the main vector in this region. Regarding VL, urban reports started in 2010 with Lutzomyia longipalpis as the main vector. The aim of this study was to evaluate environmental determinants related to the main vectors of leishmaniasis, to contribute to the prevention and control response to the emergence of VL and CL in the Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay border region. Methods The cross-sectional survey includes two cities and two close rural areas in the Argentinean Northeast Region, between November 2014 and January 2015, with a total of 95 sampling sites. REDILA-BL traps were set for three consecutive nights, and a total of 68 meso- and microscale environmental and landscape characteristics were surveyed. The association between vector abundance with different variables was evaluated using a generalized linear model with zero-inflated negative binomial distribution. We analyzed females for detection of Leishmania DNA. Results The analysis for Lu. longipalpis indicates an excess of absences when the mean NDWI around the sites were higher. The abundance of Lu. longipalpis at mesoscale level was higher when more urban services were present, and when blood sources such as chickens or dogs at the microscale level were present. For Ny. whitmani, no variable was found to be associated with the absences, while its abundance increased in association with the following variables: percentage of tree cover, presence of garbage collection service, hosted people and, at microscale, the presence of poultry. Leshmania infantum DNA was detected in 2/49 (4%) Lu. longipalpis. Conclusions The abundance of both species is influenced by variables at different scales, their influence probably has a hierarchy and they are acting on different aspects of the biology of these vectors. The urban spatial segregation of Lu. longipalpis and the peri-urban and rural segregation of N. whitmani increase the risk of VL and CL. The selection of the better variables for each scale will allow the design of appropriate control strategies depending on species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale environmental determinants of Leishmania vectors in the urban-rural context

et al. 2020

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“…The findings of Akodon sp. infected with L. (V.) braziliensis have been previously reported in Misiones (Fernández et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

The perfect storm: Cutaneous leishmaniasis in troops deployed in the Atlantic forest of Argentina

Lamattina,

Couto,

Moya

et al. 2024

Zoonoses and Public Health

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American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is the most prevalent form of leishmaniasis, associated with an ulcerative and stigmatizing mucocutaneous pathology. This study assessed the incidence of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis in members of the Argentine Army who were exposed to sandfly bites in Iguazú National Park (INP), northeastern Argentina, during an outbreak of ACL in 2019, and the presence of Leishmania in rodents, opossums and phlebotomine sandflies collected in the area of exposure. Samples from military personnel, wild animals and phlebotomine sandflies were analysed. A total of 20 (40%) patients among the Army personnel and two Akodon montensis rodents (11%) were positive for the presence of Leishmania sp. genes by PCR, while Nyssomyia whitmani and Migonemyia migonei, competent vectors of Leishmania, were also found at the same site. Sequences of hsp70 DNA fragments obtained from human samples confirmed the identity of L. (V.) braziliensis. The risk to which military personnel carrying out activities in the forest are exposed is highlighted, and this risk extends to any worker and visitor who circulates without protection in the INP, coming into contact with transmission “hot spots” due to the concentration of vectors, reservoirs and/or parasites.

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“…Thus, infected rodent dispersions between habitats occurs and we speculate that individual animal home ranges within the different habitats overlap that of sympatric species, thereby providing opportunities for inter-species and inter-habitat transmission. Many of the species in this study have been recorded in a diversity of habitats, with or without L. (V.) braziliensis infections, indicating their ecological adaptability [24,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High levels of infectiousness of asymptomatic Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis infections in wild rodents highlights their importance in the epidemiology of American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis in Brazil

et al. 2023

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Background The epidemiological significance of wildlife infections with aetiological agents causing human infectious diseases is largely determined by their infection status, contact potential with humans (via vectors for vector-borne diseases), and their infectiousness to maintain onward transmission. This study quantified these parameters in wild and synanthropic naturally infected rodent populations in an endemic region of tegumentary leishmaniasis in northeast Brazil. Methods Capture-mark-recapture (CMR) of rodents was conducted over 27 months in domestic/peri domestic environs, household plantations and nearby Atlantic Forest (9,920 single trap nights). Rodent clinical samples (blood and ear tissue) were tested for infection by conventional PCR and quantitative PCR (qPCR) for L. (Viannia) braziliensis, and xenodiagnosis to measure infectiousness to the local sand fly vector. Results A total 603 individuals of 8 rodent species were (re)captured on 1,051 occasions. The most abundant species were Nectomys squamipes (245 individuals, 41% of the total catch), Rattus rattus (148, 25%), and Necromys lasiurus (83, 14%). All species were captured in greater relative frequencies in plantations; R. rattus was the only species captured in all three habitats including in and around houses. Four species, comprising 22.6% of individuals captured at least twice, were geolocated in more than one habitat type; 78.6% were infected with L. (V.) braziliensis, facilitating inter-species and inter-habitat transmission. Species specific period prevalence ranged between 0%-62% being significantly higher in N. squamipes (54–62%) and H. sciureus (43–47%). Xenodiagnosis was performed on 41 occasions exposing 1,879 Nyssomyia whitmani sand flies to five rodent species (37 individuals). Similar mean levels of infectiousness amongst the more common rodent species were observed. Longitudinal xenodiagnosis of the N. squamipes population revealed a persistent level of infectiousness over 13 months follow-up, infecting a median 48% (IQR: 30.1%-64.2%) of exposed blood-fed vectors. The proportion of exposed flies infected was greater in the low comparted to in the high seasonal period of vector abundance. L. (V.) braziliensis parasite loads in rodent blood quantified by qPCR were similar across rodent species but did not represent a reliable quantitative marker of infectiousness to sand flies. The standardised risk of rodent infection in plantations was 70.3% relative to 11.3% and 18.4% in peri domestic and forest habitats respectively. R. rattus was the only exception to this trend indicating greatest risk in the peri domestic environment. Conclusions The results support the view that a collective assemblage of wild and synanthropic rodent species is an important wild reservoir of L. (V.) braziliensis in this region, with N. squamipes and R. rattus probably playing a key role in transmission within and between habitat types and rodent species. Rodents, and by implication humans, are at risk of infection in all sampled habitats, but more so in homestead plantations. These conclusions are based on one of the longest CMR study of small rodents in an American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (ATL) foci.

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Assessment of the role of small mammals in the transmission cycle of tegumentary leishmaniasis and first report of natural infection with Leishmania braziliensis in two sigmodontines in northeastern Argentina

Cited by 7 publications

References 22 publications

Multiscale environmental determinants of Leishmania vectors in the urban-rural context

Multiscale environmental determinants of Leishmania vectors in the urban-rural context

The perfect storm: Cutaneous leishmaniasis in troops deployed in the Atlantic forest of Argentina

High levels of infectiousness of asymptomatic Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis infections in wild rodents highlights their importance in the epidemiology of American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis in Brazil

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