Wild, synanthropic and domestic hosts of Leishmania in an endemic area of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Minas Gerais State, Brazil

Abstract

Domestic, synanthropic and wild hosts of Leishmania spp. parasites were studied in an area endemic for American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL), specifically in northern Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Domestic dogs and small forest mammals are reservoir hosts for L. (Leishmania) infantum. However, the role that these animals play in the transmission cycle of the Leishmania spp. that cause cutaneous leishmaniasis is not well known. This study evaluated 72 rodents, 25 marsupials and 98 domestic dogs found in two villages of the Xakriabá Indigenous Territory, an area of intense ATL transmission. A total of 23 dogs (23.47%) were shown to be positive according to at least one test; 8 dogs (8.16%) tested positive in a single serological test and 15 dogs (15.31%) tested positive by IFAT and ELISA. Eleven dogs were euthanised to allow for molecular diagnosis, of which nine (81.8%) tested positive by PCR for Leishmania in at least one tissue. Seven animals were infected only with L. (L.) infantum, whilst two displayed a mixed infection of L. (L.) infantum and L. (V.) braziliensis. Isoenzymatic characterisation identified L. (L.) infantum parasites isolated from the bone marrow of two dogs. Of the 97 small mammals captured, 24 tested positive for Leishmania by PCR. The results showed that L. (V.) braziliensis, L. (L.) infantum and L. (V.) guyanensis are circulating among wild and synanthropic mammals present in the Xakriabá Reserve, highlighting the epidemiological diversity of ATL in this region.

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

“…Here Quaresma et al [19] studied domestic and synanthropic wild hosts of L. braziliensis in an Indigenous Territory. Opossums were the second most frequent animal captured representing 19.6% of the total, 28.6% of which were infected with L. braziliensis.…”

“…Marmosops incanus (Grey Slender Opossum) Quaresma et al [19] observed a prevalence of 50% (1/2) infection with L. guyanensis among M. incanus in one area in the state of Minas Gerais State where other animals, including rodents and canids, were infected with other Leishmania species, including L. braziliensis and L. infantum (Table 1). …”

“…The first report was in the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil where Quaresma et al [19] studied wild, synanthropic and domestic hosts in an endemic area of cutaneous leishmaniasis (Table 1). Of the total animals caught, G. agilis represented 4.1%, of which 75% (3/4) were infected with L. braziliensis.…”

Spatial analysis of areas likely to harbor American cutaneous leishmaniasis in Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

“…Natural cases of infection have been observed in wild and synanthropic rodents, marsupials (BRANDÃO-FILHO et al, 2003;QUARESMA et al, 2011), cats (SCHUBACH et al, 2004), dogs (MADEIRA et al, 2006) and horses (AGUILAR et al, 1986). The role of animals in the transmission cycle is not fully understood; however, there is evidence that only wild rodents are reservoirs of L. (V.) brasiliensis (DANTAS-TORRES, 2007;MINISTÉRIO DA SAÚDE, 2007).…”

Detección de Leishmania sp. en Rattus rattus de la ciudad de Corrientes, Argentina

“…Existe una gran variedad de vectores pertenecientes a los géneros Phlebotomus y Lutzomyia en el viejo y nuevo mundo, respectivamente, capaces de transmitir el parásito y numerosos mamíferos que pueden actuar como reservorios, por tanto la situación epidemiológica es muy compleja (Laison 1983). En el control de esta parasitosis la vigilancia epidemiológica constituye una actividad fundamental para identificar variadas cadenas epidemiológicas compuestas por diferentes huéspedes mamíferos (Sabroza 2005, Quaresma et al 2011 y vectores transmisores (Perez-Doria et al 2008), datos elementales para la aplicación de eficientes planes de control. En el estudio epidemiológico de la Leishmania es indispensable conocer los reservorios domésticos y silvestres para poder analizar y determinar la forma en que se mantiene el agente etiológico en la naturaleza, como así también la manera de presentación de esta enfermedad en diferentes áreas geográficas y en sus distintas presentaciones clínicas.…”