Expanding the knowledge about Leishmania species in wild mammals and dogs in the Brazilian savannah

Abstract

BackgroundWild, synanthropic and domestic mammals act as hosts and/or reservoirs of several Leishmania spp. Studies on possible reservoirs of Leishmania in different areas are fundamental to understand host-parasite interactions and develop strategies for the surveillance and control of leishmaniasis. In the present study, we evaluated the Leishmania spp. occurrence in mammals in two conservation units and their surroundings in Brasília, Federal District (FD), Brazil.MethodsSmall mammals were captured in Brasília National Park (BNP) and Contagem Biological Reserve (CBR) and dogs were sampled in residential areas in their vicinity. Skin and blood samples were evaluated by PCR using different molecular markers (D7 24Sα rRNA and rDNA ITS1). Leishmania species were identified by sequencing of PCR products. Dog blood samples were subjected to the rapid immunochromatographic test (DPP) for detection of anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies.Results179 wild mammals were studied and 20.1% had Leishmania DNA successfully detected in at least one sample. Six mammal species were considered infected: Clyomys laticeps, Necromys lasiurus, Nectomys rattus, Rhipidomys macrurus, Didelphis albiventris and Gracilinanus agilis. No significant difference, comparing the proportion of individuals with Leishmania spp., was observed between the sampled areas and wild mammal species. Most of the positive samples were collected from the rodent N. lasiurus, infected by L. amazonensis or L. braziliensis. Moreover, infections by Trypanosoma spp. were detected in N. lasiurus and G. agilis. All 19 dog samples were positive by DPP; however, only three (15.8%) were confirmed by PCR assays. DNA sequences of ITS1 dog amplicons showed 100% identity with L. infantum sequence.ConclusionsThe results suggest the participation of six species of wild mammals in the enzootic transmission of Leishmania spp. in FD. This is the first report of L. amazonensis in N. lasiurus.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-015-0780-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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

“…Our prevalence based on ELISA was higher (23.3%) than previously reported (0% in Brazil and 4.1% in Sudan) and based on IFAT was lower (3.3%) than that of previous reports (27.2% in Tunisia and 51.3% in Brazil). The PCR prevalence was nine of 127 animals (7.1%), which is a low prevalence upon comparing to other studies performed in Brazil (BRANDÃO-FILHO et al, 2003;OLIVEIRA et al, 2005;QUARESMA et al, 2011;LIMA et al, 2013;CARDOSO et al, 2015;FERREIRA et al, 2015), South America (ALEXANDER et al, 1998;LIMA et al, 2002), Iran (AKHAVAN et al, 2010;DAVAMI et al, 2013;MIRZAEI et al, 2014), Saudi Arabia (IBRAHIM et al, 1992), Italy (ZANET et al, 2014), Spain (NAVEA-PÉREZ et al, 2015), and Portugal (HELHAZAR et al, 2013). This low prevalence in PCR could be explained by our use of total blood as sample; most other studies used both blood and tissue (liver, spleen, skin, bone marrow).…”

“…Clear expansion of leishmaniosis by L. (L.) amazonensis around the country has been observed over the last decades; according to Câmara-Coelho et al (2011) 8% of American cutaneous leishmaniosis cases in Brazil are caused by the above species. Several recent scientific studies describe this expansion; in terms of hosts, Souza et al (2005), Dorval et al, (2010) and Cardoso et al (2015) reported Felis catus domesticus (domestic cat), Mesocricetus auratus (hamster) and Necromys lasiurus (wild rodent) infection. In terms of geographical distribution, Dorval et al (2006), Marlow et al (2013) and Carvalho et al (2013) reported its detection in Mato Grosso do Sul, Santa Catarina and Rio de Janeiro states, Brazil.…”

<i>Leishmania</i> in Marsupials—An Overview of Infection Records in the Americas and Australia

“…For the two study areas, 19% (3 out 16) of the G. agilis tested positive for Leishmania spp through PCR and sequencing. Although the authors concluded that there were no significant differences in infection rates among the mammal species surveyed, the study highlighted the role of G. agilis, in addition to two rodent species, as hosts of Leishmania spp [64]. Until now there has been only one record of an interaction between a species of Monodelphis and Leishmania sp., which was a natural infection of a M. do-mestica (Gray Short-tailed Opossum) in Brazil (Figure 1).…”

“…The second record was in the federal district of Brasilia during a study in two areas, the Brasília National Park (BNP) and the Contagem Biological Reserve (CBR), which are federal conservation units of different types of habitats including grasslands, cerrado and gallery forests [64] (Table 1). For the two study areas, 19% (3 out 16) of the G. agilis tested positive for Leishmania spp through PCR and sequencing.…”

Molecular detection of Trypanosoma sp. and Blastocrithidia sp. (Trypanosomatidae) in phlebotomine sand flies (Psychodidae) in the Federal District of Brazil

“…However, the occurrence of trypanosomatids in sand fly species and domestic and wild mammals has yet to be fully investigated in the Cerrado biome, particularly in the Federal District (FD) of Brazil (4) , where autochthonous human cases of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis have been recorded (5) (6) . The present study focused on the search for Leishmania and other trypanosomatids in sand fl ies from two localities of FD.…”