Tungiasis in domestic, wild, and synanthropic animals in Brazil

Harvey, Tatiani Vitor; Linardi, Pedro Marcos; Carlos, Renata Santiago Alberto; Heukelbach, Jörg

doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106068

Cited by 15 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Exposure to aluminum in food or medium leads to behavior abnormality, decreased fertility, growth inhibition, and a shortened lifespan in insects [55][56][57][58][59]. Considering that sand fleas' off-host stage development occurs in soil and that larvae feed on organic matter in the environment [3,18,60], it is not impossible that a higher soil aluminum content negatively affects sand fleas' propagation. In addition, aluminum content data might not reflect actual measurement values because they are based on a prediction by a model [32].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental and Household-Based Spatial Risks for Tungiasis in an Endemic Area of Coastal Kenya

et al. 2021

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Tungiasis is a cutaneous parasitosis caused by an embedded female sand flea. The distribution of cases can be spatially heterogeneous even in areas with similar risk profiles. This study assesses household and remotely sensed environmental factors that contribute to the geographic distribution of tungiasis cases in a rural area along the Southern Kenyan Coast. Data on household tungiasis case status, demographic and socioeconomic information, and geographic locations were recorded during regular survey activities of the Health and Demographic Surveillance System, mainly during 2011. Data were joined with other spatial data sources using latitude/longitude coordinates. Generalized additive models were used to predict and visualize spatial risks for tungiasis. The household-level prevalence of tungiasis was 3.4% (272/7925). There was a 1.1% (461/41,135) prevalence of infection among all participants. A significant spatial variability was observed in the unadjusted model (p-value < 0.001). The number of children per household, earthen floor, organic roof, elevation, aluminum content in the soil, and distance to the nearest animal reserve attenuated the odds ratios and partially explained the spatial variation of tungiasis. Spatial heterogeneity in tungiasis risk remained even after a factor adjustment. This suggests that there are possible unmeasured factors associated with the complex ecology of sand fleas that may contribute to the disease’s uneven distribution.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental and Household-Based Spatial Risks for Tungiasis in an Endemic Area of Coastal Kenya

et al. 2021

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“…Recently, the zoonotic aspects of tungiasis in the Americas have been reviewed in detail ( 78 ). In Brazil alone, 11 species of domestic, sylvatic synanthropic animals are known to be hosts for T. penetrans ( 78 ). Presumably, in the Amazon rainforest, many other species serve as hosts for T. penetrans ( 1 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In urban areas, dogs kept as pet animals were found to be the most frequently infected animal species with a prevalence of up to 87% ( 78 ). Infected cats were identified as animal reservoirs in rural and urban resource-poor communities, with prevalence ranging between 8.3% and 45.6% ( 78 ). Pigs were the most frequently infected livestock animal with a prevalence between 16.6% and 78% ( 78 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Infected cats were identified as animal reservoirs in rural and urban resource-poor communities, with prevalence ranging between 8.3% and 45.6% ( 78 ). Pigs were the most frequently infected livestock animal with a prevalence between 16.6% and 78% ( 78 ). In a resource-poor urban community in Fortaleza, Northeast Brazil, 41.2% of Rattus rattus were found to be infected ( 74 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Current status of the knowledge on the epidemiology of tungiasis in the Americas

Saboyá-Díaz

Nicholls

Castellanos

et al. 2022

Revista Panamericana De Salud Pública

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Objectives. To present the state-of-the-knowledge on the epidemiology of tungiasis in the Region of the Americas. Methods. A search of publications on the epidemiology of tungiasis in the Americas was performed in PubMed and LILACS databases from January 2007 to June 2021. In addition, a manual literature search on articles on the epidemiology of tungiasis was performed. Results. A total of 83 articles were analyzed which contained relevant information on tungiasis cases and their geographical distribution, prevalence and risk factors, life cycle, sites where transmission takes place, and zoonotic aspects. The on-host and off-host life cycles have been researched in detail. In certain contexts, the whole life cycle is completed indoors enabling transmission around the whole year. Cases were reported from 10 countries; 71% of them were from Brazil. In the general population, the prevalence varied between 1.0% and 82.6% according to the settings. Age-specific prevalence indicated that children and the elderly bear the highest disease burden. Risk factor studies indicate that tungiasis is associated with severe poverty. Conclusions. In the Americas, there are important gaps in information and knowledge of tungiasis. Understanding the burden, epidemiology, distribution, magnitude, related risk factors, and reservoirs, among others, is needed to develop and implement integrated control measures tailored to the context and patterns of transmission in the affected communities.

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“…Tungiasis is a neglected tropical skin disease affecting humans [1], domestic animals such as pigs, dogs, and cats [2] as well as wildlife [3]. Although the disease is often considered to be only a nuisance and is therefore extremely neglected [4], human disease can be very severe without treatment [5,6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cost-Effective PCR-Based Identification of T<em>unga penetrans</em> (Siphonaptera) Larvae Extracted From Soil Samples Containing PCR Inhibitor-Rich Material

Amugune¹,

Matharu²,

Ouma³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Tungiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by skin-penetrating female Tunga penetrans fleas. Although tungiasis causes severe health problems, its ecology is poorly understood and morphological descriptions of larvae are unavailable. To identify T. penetrans immature stages and sites where they develop, diagnostic PCRs are required. However, flea larvae feed on soil organic matter rich in PCR inhibitors. Here, three DNA preparation methods, a soil DNA kit removing inhibitors, a simple ammonium acetate precipitation approach (AmAcet) and a crude lysate of larvae (CL), were combined with amplification by the highly processive FIREPol® Taq or the inhibitor-resistant Phusion® polymerase. Independent of the polymerase used, frequency of successful amplification, Cq values and PCR efficacies for the low-cost CL and AmAcet methods were superior to the commercial kit for amplification of a 278 bp partial internal transcribed spacer-2 (ITS-2) and a 730 bp pan-Siphonaptera cytochrome oxidase I PCR. For the CL method combined with Phusion® polymerase, costs were approximately 20-fold lower than for methods based on the soil DNA kit, which is a considerable advantage in resource-poor settings. The ITS-2 PCR did not amplify Ctenocephalides felis genomic or Tunga trimammilata ITS-2 plasmid DNA allowing it to be used to specifically identify T. penetrans.

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Tungiasis in domestic, wild, and synanthropic animals in Brazil

Cited by 15 publications

References 69 publications

Environmental and Household-Based Spatial Risks for Tungiasis in an Endemic Area of Coastal Kenya

Environmental and Household-Based Spatial Risks for Tungiasis in an Endemic Area of Coastal Kenya

Current status of the knowledge on the epidemiology of tungiasis in the Americas

Cost-Effective PCR-Based Identification of T<em>unga penetrans</em> (Siphonaptera) Larvae Extracted From Soil Samples Containing PCR Inhibitor-Rich Material

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