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Nascimento LFDJ, Amado-Gomes AC, Dantas-Torres F, Santos FLN, Neres WDS, Filho PEDS, Santos MT, Silva JRS, Resende CF, Dos Reis JKP, Jain S, Cunha JLR, Fujiwara RT, Dolabella SS. Feline leishmaniasis in an animal shelter in northeastern Brazil: Clinical aspects, coinfections, molecular detection, and serological study of a new recombinant protein. Res Vet Sci 2024; 172:105256. [PMID: 38613921 DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2024.105256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024]
Abstract
Infection and clinical cases of leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum in cats have been increasingly reported in several countries, including Brazil. In this study, we used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and an immunochromatographic test (ICT) based on a recombinant antigen (rKDDR-plus) to detect anti-Leishmania antibodies in cats from an animal shelter in northeastern Brazil. We compared the results with an ELISA using L. infantum crude antigen (ELISA-CA). We also investigated the presence of Leishmania DNA in blood or ocular conjunctival samples as well as the association between Leishmania PCR positivity and serological positivity to feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and Toxoplasma gondii. Concerning serological assays, a higher positivity was detected using the ICT-rKDDR-plus (7.5%; 7/93) as compared to ELISA-rKDDR-plus (5.4%; 5/93) and ELISA-CA (4.3%; 4/93). Upon PCR testing, 52.7% (49/93) of the ocular conjunctival swabs and 48.3% (44/91) of the blood samples were positive. Together, PCR and serological testing revealed overall positivities of 73.1% (68/93) and 12.9% (12/93), respectively. Among PCR-positive samples, 45.5% (31/68) showed co-infection with FIV, 17.6% (12/68) with FeLV, and 82.3% (56/68) with T. gondii. More than half of the PCR-positive cats showed at least one clinical sign suggestive of leishmaniasis (58.8%; 40/68) and dermatological signs were the most frequent ones (45.5%; 31/68). Both tests employing the recombinant antigen rKDDR-plus (i.e., ICT-rKDDR-plus and ELISA-rKDDR-plus) detected more positive cats than the ELISA-CA but presented low overall accuracy. PCR testing using either blood or ocular conjunctival samples detected much more positive cats than serological tests.
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MESH Headings
- Cats
- Animals
- Cat Diseases/diagnosis
- Cat Diseases/parasitology
- Cat Diseases/virology
- Cat Diseases/blood
- Cat Diseases/epidemiology
- Brazil/epidemiology
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary
- Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline/isolation & purification
- Coinfection/veterinary
- Coinfection/parasitology
- Coinfection/epidemiology
- Coinfection/virology
- Leishmania infantum/isolation & purification
- Leukemia Virus, Feline/genetics
- Leukemia Virus, Feline/immunology
- Recombinant Proteins
- Male
- Female
- Toxoplasma
- Antibodies, Protozoan/blood
- Leishmaniasis, Visceral/veterinary
- Leishmaniasis, Visceral/diagnosis
- Leishmaniasis, Visceral/epidemiology
- Leishmaniasis, Visceral/blood
- Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary
- Toxoplasmosis, Animal/diagnosis
- Toxoplasmosis, Animal/epidemiology
- Toxoplasmosis, Animal/blood
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Fred Luciano Neves Santos
- Integrated Translational Program in Chagas Disease from Fiocruz (Fio-Chagas), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Advanced Public Health Laboratory, Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Salvador, Brazil
| | - Wemerson de Santana Neres
- Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil
| | | | - Mariana Tibúrcio Santos
- Graduate Program in Parasite Biology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil
| | | | - Cláudia Fideles Resende
- Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Veterinary School, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | | | - Sona Jain
- Graduate Program in Parasite Biology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil; Graduate Program in Industrial Biotechnology, Tiradentes University, SE, Brazil
| | - João Luís Reis Cunha
- York Biomedical Research Institute and Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Ricardo Toshio Fujiwara
- Graduate Program in Parasite Biology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil; Department of Parasitology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
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van Dijk NJ, Hagos DG, Huggins DM, Carrillo E, Ajala S, Chicharro C, Kiptanui D, Solana JC, Abner E, Wolday D, Schallig HDFH. Simplified molecular diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis: Laboratory evaluation of miniature direct-on-blood PCR nucleic acid lateral flow immunoassay. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2024; 18:e0011637. [PMID: 38713648 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/09/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in resource-limited endemic regions is currently based on serological testing with rK39 immunochromatographic tests (ICTs). However, rK39 ICT frequently has suboptimal diagnostic accuracy. Furthermore, treatment monitoring and detection of VL relapses is reliant on insensitive and highly invasive tissue aspirate microscopy. Miniature direct-on-blood PCR nucleic acid lateral flow immunoassay (mini-dbPCR-NALFIA) is an innovative and user-friendly molecular tool which does not require DNA extraction and uses a lateral flow strip for result read-out. This assay could be an interesting candidate for more reliable VL diagnosis and safer test of cure at the point of care. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPLE FINDINGS The performance of mini-dbPCR-NALFIA for diagnosis of VL in blood was assessed in a laboratory evaluation and compared with the accuracy of rK39 ICTs Kalazar Detect in Spain and IT LEISH in East Africa. Limit of detection of mini-dbPCR-NALFIA was 650 and 500 parasites per mL of blood for Leishmania donovani and Leishmania infantum, respectively. In 146 blood samples from VL-suspected patients from Spain, mini-dbPCR-NALFIA had a sensitivity of 95.8% and specificity 97.2%, while Kalazar Detect had a sensitivity of 71.2% and specificity of 94.5%, compared to a nested PCR reference. For a sample set from 58 VL patients, 10 malaria patients and 68 healthy controls from Ethiopia and Kenya, mini-dbPCR-NALFIA had a pooled sensitivity of 87.9% and pooled specificity of 100% using quantitative PCR as reference standard. IT LEISH sensitivity and specificity in the East African samples were 87.9% and 97.4%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Mini-dbPCR-NALFIA is a promising tool for simplified molecular diagnosis of VL and follow-up of treated patients in blood samples. Future studies should evaluate its use in endemic, resource-limited settings, where mini-dbPCR-NALFIA may provide an accurate and versatile alternative to rK39 ICTs and aspirate microscopy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norbert J van Dijk
- Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Experimental Parasitology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Infectious Diseases Programme, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Dawit Gebreegziabiher Hagos
- Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Experimental Parasitology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Infectious Diseases Programme, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- College of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia
| | - Daniela M Huggins
- Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Experimental Parasitology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Eugenia Carrillo
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, National Center for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda (Madrid), Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC-ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sophia Ajala
- Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Experimental Parasitology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Carmen Chicharro
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, National Center for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda (Madrid), Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC-ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - David Kiptanui
- Kacheliba Sub-County Hospital, Kacheliba, West Pokot County, Kenya
| | - Jose Carlos Solana
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, National Center for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda (Madrid), Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC-ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - Edwin Abner
- Kacheliba Sub-County Hospital, Kacheliba, West Pokot County, Kenya
| | - Dawit Wolday
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Henk D F H Schallig
- Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Experimental Parasitology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Infectious Diseases Programme, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Navi Z, Salahi-Moghaddam A, Habibi-Nokhandan M, Mohebali M, Hajjaran H, Fuentes MV. A Geomedical Survey: Is There an Association Between Climatic Conditions and Leishmania Species Distribution in Iran During the Years 1999-2021? Acta Parasitol 2024; 69:769-775. [PMID: 38416328 PMCID: PMC11001653 DOI: 10.1007/s11686-024-00811-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Iran is among the high-risk leishmaniasis regions in the world. WHO recommends the use of GIS as an ideal tool for healthcare authorities to predict the evolution of a disease, delimit the risk of outbreaks and identify critical areas. The aim of this research is to find the association between the main species of Leishmania (L. major, L. tropica, L. infantum) dispersion and climatic variables in Iran. METHODS All molecular-based reports of leishmaniasis from Iran between 1999 and 2021 were gathered from reliable medical sources. Meteorological data (air and soil temperatures, annual rainfall and humidity) of the country along the study period were obtained from the Iranian Climatological Research Centre. The data concerning species distribution and climatic conditions during this period were moved to a base-map through raster layers using ArcGIS 10.4.1 software. The relationship between parasitological and climatic models was examined using ANOVA. RESULTS High risk area maps, based on the cut-off thresholds, were generated for Leishmania major, L. tropica and L. infantum. According to the molecular-based reports, the L. major distribution was significantly related to all climatic variables, while L. tropica was merely related to rainfall and humidity, and the L. infantum distribution was significantly associated with rainfall, soil and air temperatures. CONCLUSION The association between climatic conditions and Leishmania species distribution in Iran has been confirmed. Consequently, both, the relationship between climatic conditions and the geographical distribution of Leishmania species, and the use of GIS to better understand the spatial epidemiology of leishmaniasis, have been reaffirmed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Navi
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Poor Sina Avenue Qods ST, Keshavarz Blvd, 1417613151, Tehran, Iran
| | | | | | - Mehdi Mohebali
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Poor Sina Avenue Qods ST, Keshavarz Blvd, 1417613151, Tehran, Iran
| | - Homa Hajjaran
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Poor Sina Avenue Qods ST, Keshavarz Blvd, 1417613151, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Màrius V Fuentes
- Parasites and Health Research Group, Departament de Farmàcia iI Tecnologia Farmacèutica i Parasitologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, Av. Vicent Andrés Estellés s/n, Burjassot, 46100, València, Spain.
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Barros-Gonçalves TDD, Saavedra AF, da Silva-Couto L, Ribeiro-Romão RP, Bezerra-Paiva M, Gomes-Silva A, Carvalho VF, Da-Cruz AM, Pinto EF. Increased levels of cortisol are associated with the severity of experimental visceral leishmaniasis in a Leishmania (L.) infantum-hamster model. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0009987. [PMID: 34813597 PMCID: PMC8651114 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Several infectious diseases are associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis disorders by elevating circulating glucocorticoids (GCs), which are known to have an immunosuppressive potential. We conducted this study in golden hamsters, a suitable model for human visceral leishmaniasis (VL), to investigate the relationship of Leishmania (L.) infantum infection on cortisol production and VL severity. Methods L. infantum-infected (n = 42) and uninfected hamsters (n = 30) were followed-up at 30, 120, and 180 days post-infection (dpi). Plasma cortisol was analyzed by radioimmunoassay and cytokines, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and arginase by RT-qPCR. Results All hamsters showed splenomegaly at 180 dpi. Increased parasite burden was associated with higher arginase expression and lower iNOS induction. Cortisol levels were elevated in infected animals in all-time points evaluated. Except for monocytes, all other leucocytes showed a strong negative correlation with cortisol, while transaminases were positively correlated. Immunological markers as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, IL-10, and transforming growth-factor-β (TGF-β) were positively correlated to cortisol production, while interferon-γ (IFN-γ) presented a negative correlation. A network analysis showed cortisol as an important knot linking clinical status and immunological parameters. Conclusions These results suggest that L. infantum increases the systemic levels of cortisol, which showed to be associated with hematological, biochemical, and immunological parameters associated to VL severity. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an infectious disease that is common in most tropical countries. VL has high morbidity and leads to death if not properly treated. In Brazil, Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum is the main causative agent of VL. Golden hamsters have proven to be a suitable model for VL. Despite the importance of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis disturbances in infectious disease, few studies have addressed this issue in VL. In this study, we showed that L. infantum-infected hamsters present augmented levels of plasmatic cortisol in association with increased spleen parasite burden. Indeed, a strong positive correlation was observed between cortisol and biochemical parameters (AST/ALT/ALP) related to liver damage, as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-1β), anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 and TGF-β), and the arginase enzyme that may favor the progression of infection. On the other side, cortisol was negatively correlated with leucocytes, except monocytes, and with IFN-γ and iNOS, which are involved in parasite-killing macrophage function. These results shed light on an unexplored aspect of VL pathogenesis, which is the importance of cortisol production in the disease-associated immune dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea F. Saavedra
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Luzinei da Silva-Couto
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Raquel P. Ribeiro-Romão
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Milla Bezerra-Paiva
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Adriano Gomes-Silva
- Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Vinicius F. Carvalho
- Laboratório de Inflamação, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Neuroimunomodulação (INCT-NIM), CNPq, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Alda Maria Da-Cruz
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Neuroimunomodulação (INCT-NIM), CNPq, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Disciplina de Parasitologia-DMIP, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Rede de Pesquisas em Saúde do Estado do Rio de Janeiro/FAPERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Eduardo F. Pinto
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Rede de Pesquisas em Saúde do Estado do Rio de Janeiro/FAPERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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Tonelli GB, Binder C, Nogueira VLC, Prado MH, Theobaldo GG, Campos AM, de Souza CM, Andrade Filho JD. The sand fly (Diptera: Psychodidae) fauna of the urban area of Lassance, Northeast Minas Gerais, Brazil. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257043. [PMID: 34644289 PMCID: PMC8513856 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study aimed to check the sand flies' fauna on the municipality of Lassance, Minas Gerais, Brazil and detect the presence of Leishmania DNA on the female captured and determine the risk areas of the municipality. Sand flies were collected monthly from May 2018 to April 2019 using automatic light traps for 3 consecutive nights. Eight houses were selected as sample points due its previous reports of tegumentary leishmaniasis and/or canine leishmaniasis. The sand fly's fauna found on the present study it's represented by several medical importance species and the most abundant species found were Lutzomyia longipalpis (77.09%) and Nyssomyia intermedia (10.06%). Leishmania infantum DNA was detected in a pool of Lu. longipalpis resulting on a 2.81% of infection rate. By the frequency of the two most abundant species on this study, we developed a risk area map and it draws attention to sample point 6 due to disparate abundance of sand flies at this site (81.81%). Statistical overview shows Lu. longipalpis as dominant species and, still, Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling analysis reveal high similarity on fauna's diversity on the study area. Our findings suggest that the diversity of sand flies from the municipality of Lassance may promote the circulation of Leishmania infantum parasites putting in risk the habitants and other mammal's species. Still, our study reinforces the necessity of specific studies focused on breed sites of phlebotomine and its' ecology to expand the knowledge about the behaviour of this group of insects applying directly to leishmaniases' epidemiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Barbosa Tonelli
- Grupo de Estudos em Leishmanioses – Instituto René Rachou – FIOCRUZ Minas – Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil
| | - Camila Binder
- Grupo de Estudos em Leishmanioses – Instituto René Rachou – FIOCRUZ Minas – Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil
| | | | - Marina Henriques Prado
- Grupo de Estudos em Leishmanioses – Instituto René Rachou – FIOCRUZ Minas – Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil
| | - Gabriela Gonçalves Theobaldo
- Grupo de Estudos em Leishmanioses – Instituto René Rachou – FIOCRUZ Minas – Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil
| | - Aldenise Martins Campos
- Grupo de Estudos em Leishmanioses – Instituto René Rachou – FIOCRUZ Minas – Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil
| | - Carina Margonari de Souza
- Grupo de Estudos em Leishmanioses – Instituto René Rachou – FIOCRUZ Minas – Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil
| | - José Dilermando Andrade Filho
- Grupo de Estudos em Leishmanioses – Instituto René Rachou – FIOCRUZ Minas – Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil
- * E-mail:
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Scorza BM, Mahachi KG, Cox AC, Toepp AJ, Leal-Lima A, Kumar Kushwaha A, Kelly P, Meneses C, Wilson G, Gibson-Corley KN, Bartholomay L, Kamhawi S, Petersen CA. Leishmania infantum xenodiagnosis from vertically infected dogs reveals significant skin tropism. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0009366. [PMID: 34613967 PMCID: PMC8523039 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dogs are the primary reservoir for human visceral leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum. Phlebotomine sand flies maintain zoonotic transmission of parasites between dogs and humans. A subset of dogs is infected transplacentally during gestation, but at what stage of the clinical spectrum vertically infected dogs contribute to the infected sand fly pool is unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We examined infectiousness of dogs vertically infected with L. infantum from multiple clinical states to the vector Lutzomyia longipalpis using xenodiagnosis and found that vertically infected dogs were infectious to sand flies at differing rates. Dogs with mild to moderate disease showed significantly higher transmission to the vector than dogs with subclinical or severe disease. We documented a substantial parasite burden in the skin of vertically infected dogs by RT-qPCR, despite these dogs not having received intradermal parasites via sand flies. There was a highly significant correlation between skin parasite burden at the feeding site and sand fly parasite uptake. This suggests dogs with high skin parasite burden contribute the most to the infected sand fly pool. Although skin parasite load and parasitemia correlated with one another, the average parasite number detected in skin was significantly higher compared to blood in matched subjects. Thus, dermal resident parasites were infectious to sand flies from dogs without detectable parasitemia. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Together, our data implicate skin parasite burden and earlier clinical status as stronger indicators of outward transmission potential than blood parasite burden. Our studies of a population of dogs without vector transmission highlights the need to consider canine vertical transmission in surveillance and prevention strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Breanna M. Scorza
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Kurayi G. Mahachi
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Arin C. Cox
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Angela J. Toepp
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Adam Leal-Lima
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | | | - Patrick Kelly
- Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Claudio Meneses
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, NIH, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Geneva Wilson
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | | | - Lyric Bartholomay
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shaden Kamhawi
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, NIH, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Christine A. Petersen
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Luz JGG, Carvalho AGD, Dias JVL, Marciano LCL, Vlas SJD, Fontes CJF, Coffeng LE. Passive case detection for canine visceral leishmaniasis control in urban Brazil: Determinants of population uptake. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0009818. [PMID: 34624032 PMCID: PMC8528332 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In Brazil, the transmission of Leishmania infantum in urban settings is closely related to infection among dogs, with occasional transmission to humans. Serological screening of dogs for Leishmania spp. infection on requests of their owners (passive case detection) represents a frequent, but little studied, practice within the scope of Brazilian public health. This study identified factors associated with canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) diagnosis-seeking behavior of dog owners in Rondonópolis (236,000 inhabitants), a municipality in Central-Western Brazil where VL is endemic. Also, we evaluated the profile of dog owners and their animals screened on free demand. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Using mixed effects negative binomial regression, we modelled the number of dogs screened for Leishmania infection on free demand per neighborhood from 2011 to 2016 as a function of time-dependent predictors (current or recent canine seropositivity and human VL incidence), distance to the screening site, and demographic variables. We assessed potential delays in the effect of time-dependent predictors on the outcome. Among 12,536 dogs screened for Leishmania infection, 64.2% were tested during serosurveys and 35.8% were tested on free demand. Of these, 63.9% were positive. Uptake of screening under free demand was strongly associated with higher levels of canine seropositivity in the neighborhood (current or recent) and decreasing distance to the screening site. A subsample of dog owners (n = 93) who sought CVL screening between 2016 and 2017 were interviewed in more detail. Owners with better socioeconomic status and dogs with apparent CVL clinical manifestations prevailed among them. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE To support timely CVL management, passive case detection along with awareness activities aimed at dog owners should be encouraged in endemic areas. Screening sites should be prioritized in accessible zones, as well as in socio-economically disadvantage areas. In parallel, CVL active case detection should be continued as a surveillance tool to guide control actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Gabriel G Luz
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- School of Medicine, Institute of Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Rondonópolis, Rondonópolis, Brazil
- Post-graduation Program in Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil
| | - Amanda G de Carvalho
- School of Medicine, Institute of Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Rondonópolis, Rondonópolis, Brazil
- Post-graduation Program in Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil
| | - João Victor L Dias
- School of Medicine, Federal University of Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys, Teófilo Otoni, Brazil
| | - Luis Claudio L Marciano
- School of Medicine, Institute of Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Rondonópolis, Rondonópolis, Brazil
| | - Sake J de Vlas
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Cor Jesus F Fontes
- Post-graduation Program in Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil
| | - Luc E Coffeng
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Fujisawa K, Silcott-Niles C, Simonson P, Lamattina D, Humeres CA, Bhattacharyya T, Mertens P, Thunissen C, O’Rourke V, Pańczuk M, Whitworth JA, Salomón OD, Miles MA. Emergent canine visceral leishmaniasis in Argentina: Comparative diagnostics and relevance to proliferation of human disease. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0009552. [PMID: 34280201 PMCID: PMC8289008 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a zoonotic protozoal vector-borne disease that is a major public health challenge. In Argentina, canine (CVL) and human visceral leishmaniasis (HVL) have recently emerged. There is a lack of standardised diagnostic tests for CVL, which hinders control of CVL and HVL. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Sampling was carried out in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, comprising 190 asymptomatic, oligosymptomatic and polysymptomatic dogs. The following diagnostics were applied: microscopy of lymph node aspirate (LNA); three immunochromatographic rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), prototype rK28-ICT, rK39-ICT (both Coris BioConcept), commercial rK39 (InBios); ELISA for IgG, IgG1 and IgG2, against rK28, rK39 or crude lysate antigen. DNA detection and analysis, with 30 dogs, was of the ITS1 region using skin samples, and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP; Eiken Loopamp) of buffy coat, skin scrape or LNA. 15.4% of dogs were positive by LNA microscopy. The rK28 RDT had higher seropositivity rate (61%) than either a prototype rK39 RDT (31.4%) or commercial rK39 RDT (18.8%), without cross-reactivity with six other pathogens. IgG anti-rK39 ELISA antibody titres, but not IgG2, were positively correlated with number of clinical signs. LAMP with LNA had a higher positivity rate than PCR; buffy coat sampling was more sensitive than skin scrape. ITS1 confirmed Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum as the agent of CVL. Leishmania (Viannia) spp. was detected in skin samples from two dogs, compatible with Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Seroprevalence confirmed rapid increase in CVL in Puerto Iguazú. The rK28 RDT test potentially has great value for improved point-of-care diagnosis. Given cost reduction and accessibility, commercial LAMP may be applicable to buffy coat. RDT biomarkers of CVL clinical status are required to combat spread of CVL and HVL. The presence of Viannia, perhaps as an agent of human mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL), highlights the need for vigilance and surveillance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyoko Fujisawa
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Charlotte Silcott-Niles
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Poppy Simonson
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Daniela Lamattina
- Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical (INMeT), ANLIS, Ministerio de Salud de la Nación, Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina
| | - Cristian A. Humeres
- Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical (INMeT), ANLIS, Ministerio de Salud de la Nación, Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina
| | - Tapan Bhattacharyya
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Victoria O’Rourke
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Magdalena Pańczuk
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - James A. Whitworth
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Oscar Daniel Salomón
- Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical (INMeT), ANLIS, Ministerio de Salud de la Nación, Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina
| | - Michael A. Miles
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
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Kurt Ö, Mansur Özen N, Aydın EM, Kaya DE, Kayhan CK, Öktem Okullu S, İnce Ü, Yıldız Zeyrek F. Characterisation of the Leishmania donovani/L. infantum Hybrid Isolated from an Autochothonous Kala-Azar Patient: Preliminary Results of an In Vivo Model. Turkiye Parazitol Derg 2021; 45:95-100. [PMID: 34103284 DOI: 10.4274/tpd.galenos.2021.14622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In the present study, preliminary outcomes of the in vivo assessment of a Leishmania donovani/L. infantum hybrid isolated from a hospitalised patient with visceral leishmaniasis in Manisa and identified through analysis of the Leishmania-specific ITS-1, hsp70 and cpb gene regions are presented in comparison with reference strains of L. donovani and L. infantum. METHODS Three different study groups [(SG); n=16 mice each] and a control group (n=8 mice) were established with female Balb/C mice weighing 25-30 g. Reference L. donovani (MHOM/IN/1980/DD8), reference L. infantum (MHOM/TN/1980/IP1) and a L. donovani/L. infantum hybrid (MHOM/TR/2014/CBVL-LI/ LD), stored in liquid nitrogen, were thawed, cultured and incubated at 25 °C. A 15-μL dose of 1x108/mL promastigotes of three strains was applied to the tail veins of mice in the SG. After the mice were sacrificed, the liver and spleen tissues were removed and stored for immunological, immunohistochemical and pathological analyses. RESULTS The presence of infection in the liver and spleen tissues of mice was detected both by a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test and from the recovery of Leishmania promastigotes from liver and spleen tissues in NNN medium. However, Leishmania amastigotes were not observed in the touch biopsy smears of livers or spleens in either of the SGs. In addition, no evidence of tissue damage was identified in the SGs after immunohistochemical staining (with antibodies against IL-9, CD-117, MBP, CD163, CD4, CD8 and CD31). CONCLUSION The obtained results show that hybrid Leishmania and reference L. donovani and L. infantum strains reached the liver and spleens of Balb/C mice in SGs but were of no pathological consequence. Yet, these three Leishmania isolates caused skin lesions when applied subcutaneously in Balb/C mice in another study. The findings presented in this study will be reassessed upon completion of the project, once the final results are obtained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Özgür Kurt
- Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Tıbbi Mikrobiyoloji Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul, Türkiye
| | - Nesteren Mansur Özen
- Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Medikal Biyoteknoloji Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul, Türkiye
| | - Elif Merve Aydın
- Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Medikal Biyoteknoloji Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul, Türkiye
| | - Deniz Ece Kaya
- Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Biyoistatistik ve Biyoinformatik Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul, Türkiye
| | - Cavit Kerem Kayhan
- Acıbadem Sağlık Grubu, Maslak Hastanesi, Patoloji Kliniği, İstanbul, Türkiye
| | - Sinem Öktem Okullu
- Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Tıbbi Mikrobiyoloji Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul, Türkiye
| | - Ümit İnce
- Acıbadem Sağlık Grubu, Maslak Hastanesi, Patoloji Kliniği, İstanbul, Türkiye
- Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Tıbbi Patoloji Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul, Türkiye
| | - Fadile Yıldız Zeyrek
- Harran Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Tıbbi Mikrobiyoloji Anabilim Dalı, Şanlıurfa, Türkiye
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10
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Ramos REM, Santos WJT, Magalhães FB, Diniz GTN, Costa CHN, de Melo Neto OP, Medeiros ZM, Reis CRS. Assessment of a recombinant protein from Leishmania infantum as a novel tool for Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) diagnosis in VL/HIV co-infection cases. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0251861. [PMID: 33999968 PMCID: PMC8128258 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Visceral Leishmaniasis and HIV-AIDS coinfection (VL/HIV) is considered a life-threatening pathology when undiagnosed and untreated, due to the immunosuppression caused by both diseases. Serological tests largely used for the VL diagnosis include the direct agglutination test (DAT), ELISA and immunochromatographic (ICT) assays. For VL diagnosis in HIV infections, different studies have shown that the use of the DAT assay facilitates the VL diagnosis in co-infected patients, since the performance of the most widely used ELISA and ICT tests, based on the recombinant protein rK39, are much less efficient in HIV co-infections. In this scenario, alternative recombinant antigens may help the development of new serological diagnostic methods which may improve the VL diagnosis for the co-infection cases. This work aimed to evaluate the use of the recombinant Lci2 antigen, related to, but antigenically more diverse than rK39, for VL diagnosis in co-infected sera through ELISA assays. A direct comparison between recombinant Lci2 and rK39 was thus carried out. The two proteins were first tested using indirect ELISA with sera from VL afflicted individuals and healthy controls, with similar performances. They were then tested with two different sets of VL/HIV co-infected cases and a significant drop in performance, for one of these groups, was observed for rK39 (32% sensitivity), but not for Lci2 (98% sensitivity). In fact, an almost perfect agreement (Kappa: 0.93) between the Lci2 ELISA and DAT was observed for the coinfected VL/HIV patients. Lci2 then has the potential to be used as a new tool for the VL diagnosis of VL/HIV co-infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhaíssa E. M. Ramos
- Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Wagner J. T. Santos
- Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | | | - George T. N. Diniz
- Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Carlos H. N. Costa
- Instituto de Doenças Tropicais Natan Portella (IDTNP), Teresina, Piauí, Brazil
| | | | - Zulma M. Medeiros
- Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
- * E-mail: (CRSR); (ZMM)
| | - Christian R. S. Reis
- Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
- * E-mail: (CRSR); (ZMM)
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Affiliation(s)
- Chong Wang
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Ang Li
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Qingmiao Shi
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Zujiang Yu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
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González E, Molina R, Iriso A, Ruiz S, Aldea I, Tello A, Fernández D, Jiménez M. Opportunistic feeding behaviour and Leishmania infantum detection in Phlebotomus perniciosus females collected in the human leishmaniasis focus of Madrid, Spain (2012-2018). PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0009240. [PMID: 33720936 PMCID: PMC7993803 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background An outbreak of human leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum has been registered in an urban area of southwestern Madrid, Spain, since 2010. Entomological surveys carried out in the municipalities of Fuenlabrada, Leganés, Getafe and Humanes de Madrid showed that Phlebotomus perniciosus is the only potential vector. In this work, an intensive molecular surveillance was performed in P. perniciosus females captured in the region between 2012 and 2018. Methodology/Principal findings A total of 1805 P. perniciosus females were analyzed for Leishmania infection, and 1189 of them also for bloodmeal identification. Eleven different species of vertebrate were detected by amplification and subsequent sequencing of the 359 bp cytb fragment. The most prevalent blood source identified was hare (n = 553, 46.51%), followed by rabbit (n = 262, 21.95%). Less frequent were cat (n = 45, 3.80%), human (n = 34, 2.90%), pig (n = 14, 1.20%), horse (n = 11, 0.93%), sheep (n = 3, 0.25%), rhea (n = 3, 0.25%), partridge (n = 1, 0.09%) and chicken (n = 1, 0.09%). The distribution of the blood meal sources varied between the different locations. Regarding L. infantum detection, PCR amplification of a fragment of kDNA, cpb gene and ITS1 region showed 162 positive specimens (8.97%). The highest infection rate was found in the municipality of Leganés (15.17%). Conclusions The results of this molecular survey in P. perniciosus, the only leishmaniasis vector in the outbreak occurred in southwestern Madrid region, showed its opportunistic blood-feeding behaviour, high infection rates and the differences between the different points. This study was an essential part of the intensive surveillance plan in the area and the results obtained have supported the implementation of control measures in the outbreak. Vector-borne diseases (VBD) comprise a pathogen-vector-reservoir relation, and control programs should take into account different factors involving this relationship. This study is focused on a leishmaniasis outbreak that has occurred in the southwestern Madrid region since 2010. An intensive molecular surveillance of the sand fly vector Phlebotomus perniciosus was carried out from 2012 to 2018 in 4 municipalities from the affected region: Fuenlabrada, Leganés, Getafe and Humanes de Madrid. The aim of this investigation was to discern how much the vector was infected and find out its blood-feeding habits in the different surveyed points. The results showed an important rate of infected sand flies and also that P. perniciosus presents an opportunistic blood-feeding behaviour, taking blood from many different hosts, depending on their availability and density. The results obtained in this surveillance helped the authorities to plan and implement more accurate and effective control measures in the area, reflecting the importance of applying molecular surveillance in VBD outbreaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estela González
- Laboratorio de Entomología Médica, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid
| | - Ricardo Molina
- Laboratorio de Entomología Médica, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid
| | - Andrés Iriso
- Área de Vigilancia de Riesgos Ambientales en Salud, Dirección General de Salud Pública, Consejería de Sanidad, Comunidad de Madrid
| | - Sonia Ruiz
- Laboratorio de Entomología Médica, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid
| | - Irene Aldea
- Laboratorio de Entomología Médica, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid
| | - Ana Tello
- Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
| | - Daniel Fernández
- Laboratorio de Entomología Médica, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid
| | - Maribel Jiménez
- Laboratorio de Entomología Médica, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid
- * E-mail:
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Fujimori M, de Almeida ADBPF, Barrouin-Melo SM, Cortez LRPDB, Duthie MS, Hiramoto RM, de Pinho FA, Reed SG, Sousa VRF, Souza NF, Soares RM, Tolezano JE, Sanchez MCA, Goto H. Validation of ELISA with recombinant antigens in serological diagnosis of canine Leishmania infantum infection. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2021; 116:e200428. [PMID: 33729396 PMCID: PMC7968437 DOI: 10.1590/0074-02760200428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dogs are the main peridomiciliary reservoir of Leishmania infantum thus the correct diagnosis of infection is essential for the control of the transmission and treatment as well. However, the diagnosis is based on serological assays that are not fully effective. OBJECTIVE We aimed to establish an effective serological assay for the diagnosis of L. infantum infected dogs using Leishmania-derived recombinant antigens. METHODS Leishmania derived rK39-, rK28-, rKR95-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was standardized using symptomatic and asymptomatic L. infantum-infected dogs. Then 2,530 samples from inquiry in endemic areas for VL were evaluated and the results compared with recommended assays by the Brazilian Ministry of Health (MH algorithm). Further samples from a cohort of 30 dogs were searched. FINDINGS For rK39-, rK28- and rKR95-ELISA the sensitivity was around 97% and specificity 100%. The positivity of these three ELISA in the inquiry samples was 27-28%, around 10% higher than the assays currently in use. When cohort samples were searched, we observed likely false-negative results (> 65%) with supposedly negative samples that turned positive six months later with the assays in use (MH algorithm). MAIN CONCLUSIONS For the diagnosis of L. infantum-infected dogs, rK39-based ELISA showed better diagnostic performance than other assays in use in Brazil and worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahyumi Fujimori
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Laboratório de Soroepidemiologia e Imunobiologia, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | | | - Stella Maria Barrouin-Melo
- Universidade Federal da Bahia, Hospital-Escola de Medicina Veterinária, Laboratório de Infectologia Veterinária, Salvador, BA, Brasil
| | | | | | - Roberto Mitsuyoshi Hiramoto
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Parasitologia e Micologia, Núcleo de Parasitoses Sistêmicas, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | - Flaviane Alves de Pinho
- Universidade Federal da Bahia, Hospital-Escola de Medicina Veterinária, Laboratório de Infectologia Veterinária, Salvador, BA, Brasil
| | | | - Valéria Régia Franco Sousa
- Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Departamento de Clínica Médica Veterinária, Cuiabá, MT, Brasil
| | - Nazaré Fonseca Souza
- Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Instituto da Saúde e Produção Animal, Belém, Pará, Brasil
| | - Rodrigo Martins Soares
- Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | - José Eduardo Tolezano
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Parasitologia e Micologia, Núcleo de Parasitoses Sistêmicas, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | - Maria Carmen Arroyo Sanchez
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Laboratório de Soroepidemiologia e Imunobiologia, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | - Hiro Goto
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Laboratório de Soroepidemiologia e Imunobiologia, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
- Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
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Galvis-Ovallos F, Ueta AE, Marques GDO, Sarmento AMC, Araujo G, Sandoval C, Tomokane TY, da Matta VLR, Laurenti MD, Galati EAB. Detection of Pintomyia fischeri (Diptera: Psychodidae) With Leishmania infantum (Trypanosomatida: Trypanosomatidae) Promastigotes in a Focus of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Brazil. J Med Entomol 2021; 58:830-836. [PMID: 33047129 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaa199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis is spreading in Brazil where the main vector of its agent, Leishmania infantum Nicolle, 1908, is the Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva, 1912) species complex (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae), on which many of the activities of the visceral leishmaniasis surveillance program are based. However, there are areas where canine, and/or human cases have been occurring without the presence of this species complex as in the western part of the Greater São Paulo Metropolitan region, where Embu das Artes municipality is situated. In this area, Pintomyia fischeri (Pinto, 1926) has been implicated as potential vector of Le. infantum but so far its natural infection with this parasite has not yet been ascertained. Therefore, the present study sought to investigate the natural infection in sand flies of a CVL focus in Embu das Artes. The sand fly collections were undertaken with Shannon and CDC traps, monthly, between 1800 and 2100 hours from November 2018 to October 2019, inclusive. A total of 951 sand flies (457 males and 494 females), belonging to 10 species, were captured. Pintomyia fischeri was the predominant species (89.5%); of which 426 females were dissected and one of them (0.23%) was found to be harboring flagellates in its midgut. A sample of these flagellates was isolated in culture and characterized by a 234 base pair fragment of Leishmania heat-shock protein 70 gene (hsp70) and restriction fragment length polymorphism with Hae III restriction enzyme as Le. infantum. This finding reinforces previous evidence of Pi. fischeri as a vector of Le. infantum in foci of visceral leishmaniasis and highlights the importance of vector surveillance in areas where this species occurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fredy Galvis-Ovallos
- Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, CEP, Cerqueira Cesar, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Adriele Eiko Ueta
- Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, CEP, Cerqueira Cesar, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Gabriella de Oliveira Marques
- Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, CEP, Cerqueira Cesar, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ana Maria Casagrande Sarmento
- Centro de Controle de Zoonoses, Av. Ecologista de João de Oliveira Ramos de Sá 336, CEP, Chácaras Bartira, Embu das Artes, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Gabriela Araujo
- Laboratório de Patologia de Moléstias Infecciosas, Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, CEP, Cerqueira Cesar, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carmen Sandoval
- Laboratório de Patologia de Moléstias Infecciosas, Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, CEP, Cerqueira Cesar, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Thaíse Yumie Tomokane
- Laboratório de Patologia de Moléstias Infecciosas, Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, CEP, Cerqueira Cesar, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Vânia Lúcia Ribeiro da Matta
- Laboratório de Patologia de Moléstias Infecciosas, Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, CEP, Cerqueira Cesar, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Márcia Dalastra Laurenti
- Laboratório de Patologia de Moléstias Infecciosas, Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, CEP, Cerqueira Cesar, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Eunice Aparecida Bianchi Galati
- Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, CEP, Cerqueira Cesar, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Tayachi I, Galai Y, Ben-Abid M, Saidi N, Ben-Sghaier I, Aoun K, Bouratbine A. Use of Immunomagnetic Separation tool in Leishmania promastigotes capture. Acta Trop 2021; 215:105804. [PMID: 33385362 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2020.105804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Revised: 12/05/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Immunomagnetic Separation (IMS) assay has been used for isolation of viable whole organisms. The objective of our work is to produce anti-Leishmania magnetic beads and to assess the efficiency of the IMS technique on Leishmania promastigote capture in culture media. Polyclonal anti-Leishmania antibodies were produced by intravenous injection of viable metacyclic promastigotes of Leishmania (L.) major to rabbit. Purified anti-Leishmania IgG was assessed for their reactivity against both L. major and L. infantum promastigotes then covalently conjugated to magnetic beads and used for IMS. This latter was applied on either L. major promastigote cultures of known concentrations or early stage (24h, 48h, 72h) Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle (NNN) cultures of tissue fluid obtained from cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) lesions. Promastigotes capture was assessed by either microscopy or qPCR after sample boiling. Indirect immunofluorescence assay showed that polyclonal antibodies reacted against both L. major and L. infantum promastigotes. In 50 µL solution, immunomagnetic beads were able to capture 5 live promastigotes out of 20 and 1050 out of 2500, giving an estimated efficiency of 25-42%. The efficiency of the IMS was lower for a lower number of parasites but still repeatable. On the other hand, IMS-qPCR applied to 14 NNN cultures of confirmed Leishmania lesions showed a higher sensitivity to detect live parasites than routine microscopy observation of promastigotes growth (93% positivity at 72h versus 50% positivity within 2-4 weeks incubation). The estimated number of captured parasites at 72h ranged from 1 to more than 100 parasites / 50 µL liquid phase of culture. These preliminary results open the way for interesting perspectives in the use of cultures for leishmaniasis diagnosis and also for other applications such as Leishmania detection in cultures taken from reservoir animals or sandflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Imen Tayachi
- Laboratoire de recherche LR 16-IPT-06 "Parasitologie Médicale, Biotechnologies et Biomolécules"(1), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, 13 Place Pasteur, BP 74, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia; Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, Université de Carthage, Bizerte, Tunisia
| | - Yousr Galai
- Laboratoire de recherche LR 16-IPT-06 "Parasitologie Médicale, Biotechnologies et Biomolécules"(1), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, 13 Place Pasteur, BP 74, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Meriem Ben-Abid
- Laboratoire de recherche LR 16-IPT-06 "Parasitologie Médicale, Biotechnologies et Biomolécules"(1), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, 13 Place Pasteur, BP 74, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Nasreddine Saidi
- Laboratoire de recherche LR 16-IPT-06 "Parasitologie Médicale, Biotechnologies et Biomolécules"(1), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, 13 Place Pasteur, BP 74, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Ines Ben-Sghaier
- Laboratoire de recherche LR 16-IPT-06 "Parasitologie Médicale, Biotechnologies et Biomolécules"(1), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, 13 Place Pasteur, BP 74, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Karim Aoun
- Laboratoire de recherche LR 16-IPT-06 "Parasitologie Médicale, Biotechnologies et Biomolécules"(1), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, 13 Place Pasteur, BP 74, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia; Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, 13 Place Pasteur, BP 74, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Aïda Bouratbine
- Laboratoire de recherche LR 16-IPT-06 "Parasitologie Médicale, Biotechnologies et Biomolécules"(1), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, 13 Place Pasteur, BP 74, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia; Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, 13 Place Pasteur, BP 74, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia.
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Tamponi C, Scarpa F, Carta S, Knoll S, Sanna D, Gai C, Pipia AP, Dessì G, Casu M, Varcasia A, Scala A. Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Leishmania infantum in dogs in Sardinia (Italy), an endemic island for leishmaniasis. Parasitol Res 2021; 120:289-300. [PMID: 33205238 PMCID: PMC7846507 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-020-06973-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a widespread, vector-borne parasitosis causing clinical manifestations in animals and in humans. In dogs, Canine Leishmaniasis has been reported in as much as 50 countries and the Mediterranean basin is known to be one of the most affected zones. Within these areas, the Island of Sardinia (Italy) has long been considered endemic for leishmaniasis and the presence of two arthropod vectors has recently been reported there. Nevertheless, to date, no epidemiological surveys regarding CanL have been carried out on the island. Hence, for the first time, the seroprevalence and the risk factors were investigated. Blood samples, as well as clinical and general information from 1.147 dogs, were collected and analyzed. Dogs consisted of two distinct populations, namely "owned dogs" and "kennel dogs." Anti-Leishmania IgG antibodies were detected using IFAT and samples were scored as positive at a cut-off dilution of 1:80. Data was analyzed using a Chi-squared test and bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Overall, 15.4% of dogs were found to be infected with CanL while only 44.1% of these animals exhibited clinical signs. Owned dogs (27.2%) were found to be infected more often than kennel dogs (10.6%); male dogs were found to be more frequently infected than female dogs and the number of infected animals increases with age. The present survey confirmed the endemic nature of leishmaniasis in Sardinia with a similar seroprevalence as mainland Italy. The results obtained serve as validation for the hypothesis that, in endemic areas, clinical CanL representations constitute only a fraction of the leishmaniasis cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Tamponi
- Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via Vienna, 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Fabio Scarpa
- Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via Vienna, 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Silvia Carta
- Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via Vienna, 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Stephane Knoll
- Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via Vienna, 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Daria Sanna
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Carolina Gai
- Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via Vienna, 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Anna Paola Pipia
- Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via Vienna, 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Giorgia Dessì
- Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via Vienna, 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Marco Casu
- Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via Vienna, 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Antonio Varcasia
- Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via Vienna, 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Antonio Scala
- Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via Vienna, 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
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Pereira LQ, Ferreira-Silva MM, Ratkevicius CMA, Gómez-Hérnandez C, De Vito FB, Tanaka SCSV, Rodrigues Júnior V, Moraes-Souza H. Identification of Leishmania infantum in blood donors from endemic regions for visceral leishmaniasis. Parasitology 2021; 148:110-114. [PMID: 33143775 PMCID: PMC11010041 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182020001936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Revised: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis is an endemic protozoonosis observed in over 60 countries, with over 500 000 new cases recorded annually. Although the diagnostic procedure of its symptomatic forms is well established, for asymptomatic patients, who represent about 85% of those infected, there is no consensus on the best method for its identification. Recent studies have presented molecular techniques as viable identification methods, with good sensitivity and specificity indices in asymptomatic individuals. Therefore, we aimed to use molecular methods to assess their effectiveness in identifying the presence of asymptomatic infection by Leishmania infantum (L. infantum) individuals from endemic regions of Brazil. Screening was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and confirmed by sequencing the cytochrome B gene. Of the 127 samples [from 608 blood donors who had participated in a previous study, of which 34 were positive by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) rK39] tested by qPCR, 31 (24.4%) were positive. In the sequencing of 10 qPCR-positive samples, five were identified as L. infantum. Complimentary samples of the ELISA rK39 and conventional PCR showed only reasonable and low agreement with qPCR, respectively. The qPCR confirmed the presence of infection in five of the 10 sequenced samples, ELISA confirmed three, and the conventional PCR confirmed none.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loren Queli Pereira
- Laboratory of Hematological Research of the Triângulo Mineiro Federal University and Uberaba Regional Blood Center – Hemominas Fundation, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Márcia Maria Ferreira-Silva
- Laboratory of Hematological Research of the Triângulo Mineiro Federal University and Uberaba Regional Blood Center – Hemominas Fundation, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | - César Gómez-Hérnandez
- Laboratory of Immunology, Triângulo Mineiro Federal University, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Bernadelli De Vito
- Laboratory of Hematological Research of the Triângulo Mineiro Federal University and Uberaba Regional Blood Center – Hemominas Fundation, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Sarah Cristina Sato Vaz Tanaka
- Laboratory of Hematological Research of the Triângulo Mineiro Federal University and Uberaba Regional Blood Center – Hemominas Fundation, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | - Helio Moraes-Souza
- Laboratory of Hematological Research of the Triângulo Mineiro Federal University and Uberaba Regional Blood Center – Hemominas Fundation, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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18
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Pombi M, Giacomi A, Barlozzari G, Mendoza-Roldan J, Macrì G, Otranto D, Gabrielli S. Molecular detection of Leishmania (Sauroleishmania) tarentolae in human blood and Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum in Sergentomyia minuta: unexpected host-parasite contacts. Med Vet Entomol 2020; 34:470-475. [PMID: 32710462 DOI: 10.1111/mve.12464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 07/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The detection of atypical Kinetoplastida in vertebrate hosts and vectors might suggest unexpected host-parasite contacts. Aside to major vectors of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum in Italy (e.g. Phlebotomus perniciosus and Phlebotomus perfiliewi), the sand fly fauna also includes Sergentomyia minuta, herpetophilic and proven vector of Leishmania (Sauroleishmania) tarentolae, in which records of blood meal on mammals and detection of L. infantum DNA are increasing. This study was conducted in Central Italy aiming to molecularly detect potential atypical Leishmania host-vector contacts. Detection of Leishmania spp. DNA was performed by polymerase chain reaction (SSU rRNA, ITS1 targets) on field-collected sand fly females (N = 344), blood samples from humans (N = 185) and dogs (N = 125). Blood meal identification was also performed on engorged sand flies. Leishmania spp. DNA was found in 13.1% sand flies, 3.7% humans and 14.4% dogs. Sequence analysis identified L. infantum in S. minuta (4.4%), P. perniciosus (9.1%), humans (2.2%) and dogs (14.4%). Leishmania tarentolae was detected in S. minuta (12.6%), P. perfiliewi (6.6%) and human (1.6%) samples. Of 28 S. minuta examined for blood meal, 3.6 and 21.4% scored positive for human and lizard DNA, respectively. These results indicate the importance of one-health approach to explore new potential routes of transmission of leishmaniasis involving S. minuta.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Pombi
- Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Malattie Infettive, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - A Giacomi
- Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Malattie Infettive, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - G Barlozzari
- Department of Direzione Operativa Sierologia, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana, Rome, Italy
| | - J Mendoza-Roldan
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano, Italy
| | - G Macrì
- Department of Direzione Operativa Sierologia, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana, Rome, Italy
| | - D Otranto
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano, Italy
| | - S Gabrielli
- Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Malattie Infettive, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
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Bussotti G, Benkahla A, Jeddi F, Souiaï O, Aoun K, Späth GF, Bouratbine A. Nuclear and mitochondrial genome sequencing of North-African Leishmania infantum isolates from cured and relapsed visceral leishmaniasis patients reveals variations correlating with geography and phenotype. Microb Genom 2020; 6:mgen000444. [PMID: 32975503 PMCID: PMC7660250 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 09/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Although several studies have investigated genetic diversity of Leishmania infantum in North Africa, genome-wide analyses are lacking. Here, we conducted comparative analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of seven L. infantum isolates from Tunisia with the aim to gain insight into factors that drive genomic and phenotypic adaptation. Isolates were from cured (n=4) and recurrent (n=3) visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases, originating from northern (n=2) and central (n=5) Tunisia, where respectively stable and emerging VL foci are observed. All isolates from relapsed patients were from Kairouan governorate (Centre); one showing resistance to the anti-leishmanial drug Meglumine antimoniate. Nuclear genome diversity of the isolates was analysed by comparison to the L. infantum JPCM5 reference genome. Kinetoplast maxi and minicircle sequences (1 and 59, respectively) were extracted from unmapped reads and identified by blast analysis against public data sets. The genome variation analysis grouped together isolates from the same geographical origins. Strains from the North were very different from the reference showing more than 34 587 specific single nucleotide variants, with one isolate representing a full genetic hybrid as judged by variant frequency. Composition of minicircle classes within isolates corroborated this geographical population structure. Read depth analysis revealed several significant gene copy number variations correlating with either geographical origin (amastin and Hsp33 genes) or relapse (CLN3 gene). However, no specific gene copy number variation was found in the drug-resistant isolate. In contrast, resistance was associated with a specific minicircle pattern suggesting Leishmania mitochondrial DNA as a potential novel source for biomarker discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Bussotti
- Institut Pasteur, Hub Bioinformatique et biostatistique, 28 Rue du Dr Roux, 75015 Paris, France
- Institut Pasteur, INSERM U1201, Unité de Parasitologie moléculaire et Signalisation, Département des Parasites et Insectes vecteurs, 25 Rue du Dr Roux, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Alia Benkahla
- Laboratoire de recherche, LR 16IPT09, Bioinformatique, Biomathématiques et Biostatistiques, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, 13 Place Pasteur, Tunis, Tunisie
| | - Fakhri Jeddi
- Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Hôpital de la Timone, Marseille, France
- Laboratoire de Parasitologie et Mycologie Médicale, CHU de Nantes, Nantes, France
| | - Oussama Souiaï
- Laboratoire de recherche, LR 16IPT09, Bioinformatique, Biomathématiques et Biostatistiques, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, 13 Place Pasteur, Tunis, Tunisie
| | - Karim Aoun
- Laboratoire de recherche, LR 16IPT06, Parasitoses médicales, Biotechnologies et Biomolécules, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, 13 Place Pasteur, Tunis, Tunisie
| | - Gerald F. Späth
- Institut Pasteur, INSERM U1201, Unité de Parasitologie moléculaire et Signalisation, Département des Parasites et Insectes vecteurs, 25 Rue du Dr Roux, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Aïda Bouratbine
- Laboratoire de recherche, LR 16IPT06, Parasitoses médicales, Biotechnologies et Biomolécules, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, 13 Place Pasteur, Tunis, Tunisie
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Karakuş M, Öktem MA, Sözen M, Matur F, Çolak F, Nalçaci M, Özbel Y, Töz S. First molecular detection and identification of Leishmania species in small wild rodents from Turkey. Parasitology 2020; 147:1088-1093. [PMID: 32404216 PMCID: PMC10317722 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182020000803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease infecting animals and humans. Two clinical forms (Visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis) and four species are reported to be present in Turkey. Several studies have investigated canine and human leishmaniasis in Turkey but no study was performed to screen the infection among wild rodents, so far. The present study aims to investigate the role of small wild rodents as reservoir animals for Leishmania spp. in different regions of Turkey. Formalin-preserved tissue samples (spleen, liver, lung) of 712 rodents from 30 provinces were screened for the presence of Leishmania spp. DNA. Before DNA extraction, tissues were dried, rehydrated, and homogenated. Leishmania screening in rodent tissues and species determination was performed with a combination of real-time kDNA and ITS1 polymerase chain reaction protocols. Eight (1.12%) out of 712 animals were found to be positive for Leishmania spp. DNA and species typing revealed five L. infantum, two L. tropica and one L. major among positives. Leishmania major and L. infantum DNA were detected in Apodemus spp. from Zonguldak province located in the Western Black Sea Region, while L. tropica DNA was found in Meriones sp. and Gerbillus dasyurus from Adana and Hatay provinces located in Eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey. The present study is first to report natural infection of L. infantum, L. major and L. tropica in small wild rodents in Turkey, suggesting their possible roles as reservoirs. Further studies are needed for planning epidemiological studies and also for developing rodent control measures in risky endemic areas to break the transmission cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehmet Karakuş
- University of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Microbiology, İstanbul, Turkey
| | - Mehmet Ali Öktem
- Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Microbiology, İzmir, Turkey
| | - Mustafa Sözen
- Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, Zonguldak, Turkey
| | - Ferhat Matur
- Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, İzmir, Turkey
| | - Faruk Çolak
- Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, Zonguldak, Turkey
| | - Muhammed Nalçaci
- Ege University Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Department of Biology, Bornova, İzmir, Turkey
| | - Yusuf Özbel
- Ege University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Parasitology, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Seray Töz
- Ege University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Parasitology, Izmir, Turkey
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Cupolillo E, Cavalcanti AS, Ferreira GEM, Boité MC, Morgado FN, Porrozzi R. Occurrence of multiple genotype infection caused by Leishmania infantum in naturally infected dogs. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0007986. [PMID: 32716941 PMCID: PMC7410330 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Revised: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic polymorphisms in natural Leishmania populations have been reported in endemic areas. Microsatellite typing is a useful tool to elucidate the genetic variability of parasite strains, due to its capability for high-resolution mapping of genomic targets. The present study employed multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) to explore the genotypic composition of Leishmania infantum in naturally infected dogs by genotyping parasites infecting different tissues with or without in vitro expansion. Eighty-six samples were collected from 46 animals in an endemic region of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). MLMT was performed for 38 spleen samples and 48 L. infantum cultures isolated from different tissues. Of the 86 samples, 23 were effectively genotyped by MLMT, identifying nine multilocus genotypes (MLG; referred to as MLG A–I). MLGs A, B and C were detected in more than one type of tissue and in more than one sample. Conversely, MLG D-I were uniquely detected in one sample each. The results showed that multiple genotype infections occur within a single host and tissue. Paired sample analysis revealed the presence of different MLMT alleles in 14 dogs, while the same MLG allele was present in 15 animals. STRUCTURE analysis demonstrated the presence of two populations; 13 samples displayed a similar admixture of both ancestral populations, and these were not assigned to any population. Only samples for which Q ≥ 0.70 after CLUMPP alignment were considered to be part of Population 1 (POP1) or Population 2 (POP2). POP2 comprised the majority of samples (n = 54) compared to POP1 (n = 19). This study presents evidence of multiple genotype infections (caused by L. infantum) in dogs in an area with high VL transmission. Further investigations must be undertaken to determine the effects of multiple infection on the host immune response and disease dynamics and treatment. American visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Leishmania infantum. This parasite can infect humans and animals and is transmitted by sand flies. Domestic dogs are considered an important host, and like humans, they can manifest the disease or present asymptomatic infections. Studies have identified genetic variations among L. infantum parasites from different endemic regions in the American continent. For other parasitic diseases (e.g., malaria), studies have suggested that multigenetic infection predicts the development of symptoms and can lead to a high level of transmission. However, the effects of the genetic composition of Leishmania parasites on VL need to be ascertained. This study used highly variable microsatellite markers to investigate multigenotype L. infantum populations among naturally infected dogs living in an area in which VL is highly prevalent. Samples obtained from different tissues were examined to identify the occurrence of multiple genotypes in the same animal and even within the same tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Cupolillo
- Laboratório de Pesquisa em Leishmaniose, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
- * E-mail:
| | - Amanda S. Cavalcanti
- Laboratório de Pesquisa em Leishmaniose, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | | | - Mariana Côrtes Boité
- Laboratório de Pesquisa em Leishmaniose, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Fernanda Nazaré Morgado
- Laboratório de Pesquisa em Leishmaniose, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
| | - Renato Porrozzi
- Laboratório de Pesquisa em Leishmaniose, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
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Rêgo FD, Souza GD, Miranda JB, Peixoto LV, Andrade-Filho JD. Potential Vectors of Leishmania Parasites in a Recent Focus of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Neighborhoods of Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. J Med Entomol 2020; 57:1286-1292. [PMID: 32112089 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaa036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
In view of recent cases of human and canine visceral leishmaniasis reported in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, we investigated the sand fly fauna inhabiting the neighborhoods of Morro Santana and Jardim Carvalho, Brazil, continuing a series of entomological surveys aimed to identify potential vectors of Leishmania (Ross, 1903) parasites. Sand flies were collected monthly from October 2016 to October 2017 using CDC light traps in the intradomiciliary and peridomiciliary environments of seven residences. Sand fly abundance was correlated to climatic variables. Females were pooled by species, location, and date for Leishmania DNA molecular screening using ITS1 and kDNA polymerase chain reaction. In total, 501 sand flies from five species were collected in which Lutzomyia gaminarai (Cordero, Vogelsang & Cossio, 1928) (Diptera: Psychodidae) (78%) was the most abundant species in the intradomiciliary sites while Migonemyia migonei (Franca, 1920) (Diptera: Psychodidae) (43.3%) was the most abundant in the peridomiciliary sites. A higher number of sand flies were collected during the warmest months, from December to March (Mann-Whitney statistical test - P < 0.001). Leishmania infantum DNA was detected in Lu. gaminarai (2), Pintomyia fischeri (Pinto, 1926) (1) and Mg. migonei (1). Leishmania braziliensis DNA was detected in Lu. gaminarai (1) and Pi. fischeri (1). Our results add support to the possible vector role of Pi. fischeri in the epidemiological cycle of Le. infantum in Brazil. Furthermore, the first documented detection of Leishmania DNA in Lu. gaminarai may be indicative of multiple vectors being involved in the Leishmania cycle within Porto Alegre.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Dutra Rêgo
- Grupo de Estudo em Leishmanioses, Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Getúlio Dornelles Souza
- Núcleo de Vigilância de Roedores e Vetores, Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
- Núcleo de Flebotomíneos, Laboratório Central de Saúde Pública do Rio Grande do Sul, Secretaria de Saúde do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Júlia Bahia Miranda
- Grupo de Estudo em Leishmanioses, Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Lais Vieira Peixoto
- Núcleo de Vigilância de Roedores e Vetores, Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - José Dilermando Andrade-Filho
- Grupo de Estudo em Leishmanioses, Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
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Molina R, Jiménez M, García-Martínez J, San Martín JV, Carrillo E, Sánchez C, Moreno J, Alves F, Alvar J. Role of asymptomatic and symptomatic humans as reservoirs of visceral leishmaniasis in a Mediterranean context. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0008253. [PMID: 32324738 PMCID: PMC7200008 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In the Mediterranean basin, Leishmania infantum is the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a zoonosis in which the dog is the primary domestic reservoir, although wildlife may have a leading role in the sylvatic cycle of the disease in some areas. Infections without disease are very frequent. There is limited information regarding the role that VL patients and asymptomatic infected individuals could be playing in the transmission of L. infantum. Xenodiagnosis of leishmaniasis has been used in this descriptive study to explore the role of symptomatic and asymptomatic infected individuals as reservoirs in a recent focus of leishmaniasis in southwestern Madrid, Spain. Methodology and main findings Asymptomatic blood donors (n = 24), immunocompetent patients who were untreated (n = 12) or treated (n = 11) for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), and immunocompromised patients with VL (n = 3) were enrolled in the study. Their infectivity to Phlebotomus perniciosus was studied by indirect xenodiagnosis on peripheral blood samples. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction of blood samples from immunocompetent patients untreated for VL and immunocompromised untreated, treated and under secondary prophylaxis for VL was performed. Antibodies against Leishmania were studied by indirect fluorescent antibody and rK39-immunochromatographic tests. A lymphoproliferative assay with a soluble Leishmania antigen was used to screen for leishmaniasis infection in the healthy population. Sixty-two xenodiagnostic tests were carried out and 5,080 sand flies were dissected. Positive xenodiagnosis was recorded in four patients, with different sand fly infection rates: 1 immunosuppressed HIV / L. infantum coinfected asymptomatic patient, 1 immunosuppressed patient with multiple myeloma and symptomatic active VL, and 2 immunocompetent patients with untreated active VL. All blood donors were negative for both xenodiagnosis and conventional PCR. Conclusions / Significance There is no consensus amongst authors on the definition of an ‘asymptomatic case’ nor on the tools for screening; we, therefore, have adopted one for the sake of clarity. Immunocompetent subjects, both infected asymptomatics and those treated for VL, are limited in number and appear to have no epidemiological relevance. The impact is limited for immunocompetent patients with untreated active VL, whilst immunosuppressed individuals undergoing immunosuppressive therapy and immunosuppressed individuals HIV / L. infantum coinfected were the most infectious towards sand flies. It is noteworthy that the HIV / L. infantum coinfected patient with asymptomatic leishmaniasis was easily infectious to sand flies for a long time, despite being under continuous prophylaxis for leishmaniasis. Accordingly, screening for latent Leishmania infection in HIV-infected patients is recommended in scenarios where transmission occurs. In addition, screening for VL in HIV-infected patients who have spent time in VL-endemic areas should also be implemented in non-endemic areas. More research is needed to better understand if some asymptomatic coinfected individuals contribute to transmission as ‘super-spreaders’. Leishmaniasis is a set of diseases caused by Leishmania parasites and transmitted through the bites of infected phlebotomine sand fly females during blood ingestion. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is caused by Leishmania infantum in the Mediterranean region and dog is the primary domestic reservoir, although we can not ignore the role that wild reservoirs can have under certain conditions. As for the role of the human host in the transmission of the disease is not fully understood. The present work explores this important epidemiological aspect to try to clarify it. The study concludes that asymptomatic infected individuals and the immunocompetent patients treated for VL have no epidemiological impact in the transmission of L. infantum. As for the immunocompetent patients with untreated active VL its impact is limited, whilst immunosupressed patients are the most infectious towards sand flies. Thus, the screening for latent Leishmania infection in HIV-infected patients is recommended in scenarios where transmission occurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Molina
- Laboratory of Medical Entomology, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail: (RM); (MJ); (JA)
| | - Maribel Jiménez
- Laboratory of Medical Entomology, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail: (RM); (MJ); (JA)
| | - Jesús García-Martínez
- Clinical Laboratory Service, Blood Bank, Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada, Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Víctor San Martín
- Internal Medicine Service, Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada, Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eugenia Carrillo
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carmen Sánchez
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Moreno
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fabiana Alves
- Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jorge Alvar
- Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, Geneva, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (RM); (MJ); (JA)
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Remadi L, Chargui N, Jiménez M, Molina R, Haouas N, González E, Chaabane-Banaouas R, Ben Salah E, Haddaji M, Chaabouni Y, Babba H. Molecular detection and identification of Leishmania DNA and blood meal analysis in Phlebotomus (Larroussius) species. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0008077. [PMID: 32214313 PMCID: PMC7098558 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Phlebotomus (Larroussius) perniciosus and Canis familiaris are respectively the only confirmed vector and reservoir for the transmission of Leishmania (L.) infantum MON-1 in Tunisia. However, the vector and reservoir hosts of the two other zymodemes, MON-24 and MON-80, are still unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze the L. infantum life cycle in a Tunisian leishmaniasis focus. For this purpose, we have focused on: i) the detection, quantification and identification of Leishmania among this sand fly population, and ii) the analysis of the blood meal preferences of Larroussius (Lar.) subgenus sand flies to identify the potential reservoirs. METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS A total of 3,831 sand flies were collected in seven locations from the center of Tunisia affected by human visceral leishmaniasis. The collected sand flies belonged to two genus Phlebotomus (Ph.) (five species) and Sergentomyia (four species). From the collected 1,029 Lar. subgenus female sand flies, 8.26% was positive to Leishmania by ITS1 nested PCR. Three Leishmania spp. were identified: L. infantum 28% (24/85), L. killicki 13% (11/85), and L. major 22% (19/85). To identify the blood meal sources in Ph. Lar. subgenus sand flies, engorged females were analyzed by PCR-sequencing targeting the vertebrate cytochrome b gene. Among the 177 analyzed blood-fed females, 169 samples were positive. Sequencing results showed seven blood sources: cattle, human, sheep, chicken, goat, donkey, and turkey. In addition, mixed blood meals were detected in twelve cases. Leishmania DNA was found in 21 engorged females, with a wide range of blood meal sources: cattle, chicken, goat, chicken/cattle, chicken/sheep, chicken/turkey and human/cattle. The parasite load was quantified in fed and unfed infected sand flies using a real time PCR targeting kinetoplast DNA. The average parasite load was 1,174 parasites/reaction and 90 parasites/reaction in unfed and fed flies, respectively. CONCLUSION Our results support the role of Ph. longicuspis, Ph. perfiliewi, and Ph. perniciosus in L. infantum transmission. Furthermore, these species could be involved in L. major and L. killicki life cycles. The combination of the parasite detection and the blood meal analysis in this study highlights the incrimination of the identified vertebrate in Leishmania transmission. In addition, we quantify for the first time the parasite load in naturally infected sand flies caught in Tunisia. These findings are relevant for a better understanding of L. infantum transmission cycle in the country. Further investigations and control measures are needed to manage L. infantum transmission and its spreading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Latifa Remadi
- University of Monastir, Faculty of Pharmacy, Laboratory of Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology LP3M (code LR12ES08), Department of Clinical Biology B, Tunisia
| | - Najla Chargui
- University of Monastir, Faculty of Pharmacy, Laboratory of Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology LP3M (code LR12ES08), Department of Clinical Biology B, Tunisia
- * E-mail:
| | - Maribel Jiménez
- Laboratory of Medical Entomology, National Center for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ricardo Molina
- Laboratory of Medical Entomology, National Center for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - Najoua Haouas
- University of Monastir, Faculty of Pharmacy, Laboratory of Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology LP3M (code LR12ES08), Department of Clinical Biology B, Tunisia
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, Hail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Estela González
- Laboratory of Medical Entomology, National Center for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - Raja Chaabane-Banaouas
- University of Monastir, Faculty of Pharmacy, Laboratory of Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology LP3M (code LR12ES08), Department of Clinical Biology B, Tunisia
| | - Eya Ben Salah
- University of Monastir, Faculty of Pharmacy, Laboratory of Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology LP3M (code LR12ES08), Department of Clinical Biology B, Tunisia
| | - Mohsen Haddaji
- Regional Commissariat for Agricultural Development of Kairouan, Tunisia
| | | | - Hamouda Babba
- University of Monastir, Faculty of Pharmacy, Laboratory of Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology LP3M (code LR12ES08), Department of Clinical Biology B, Tunisia
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Alcover MM, Ribas A, Guillén MC, Berenguer D, Tomás-Pérez M, Riera C, Fisa R. Wild mammals as potential silent reservoirs of Leishmania infantum in a Mediterranean area. Prev Vet Med 2019; 175:104874. [PMID: 31901603 DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2019.104874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Revised: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
A molecular survey of wild mammals was performed to assess their potential as reservoirs of L. infantum. A total of 156 specimens of wild mammalian fauna were obtained for analysis from areas in Catalonia with a reported incidence of canine leishmaniasis. They consisted of 124 small mammals: 35 Mus spretus (Muridae); 64 Erinaceus europaeus (Erinaceidae), 25 Sciurus vulgaris (Sciuridae) and 32 carnivores: 11 Vulpes vulpes (Canidae), 1 Felis catus (Felidae), 15 Meles meles, 4 Martes foina and 1 Mustela vison (Mustelidae). The analysis was performed on samples of liver, spleen, skin (ear) and blood extracted from the heart. Leishmania DNA was determined by a qPCR and specific anti-Leishmania antibodies were detected by an in-house (ELISA). Among the 156 specimens studied, 29.48% were positive in at least one of the samples studied and considered infected. In M. spretus, Leishmania DNA was detected in the liver, spleen or skin of 37.1% of 35 specimens, and 2 of the 13 specimens tested serologically were positive (15.38%). In E. europaeus, 34.4% of the 64 specimens were infected. Leishmania DNA was detected in 19/51 spleens and 5/50 skins; 2 of the 37 specimens analysed in both spleen and skin gave positive results in both samples. Serology was positive in 12.8% (6/47) by ELISA; 3 specimens were positive by both ELISA and qPCR. In S. vulgaris, Leishmania DNA was detected in 5 of 25 specimens (20%). Of the 32 carnivore specimens analysed, Leishmania DNA was detected in both samples studied (spleen and liver) of 4 (12.5%) (2 M. foina, 1 M. vison and 1 F. catus), which were not studied serologically. The data obtained indicate that small mammals, above all wild rodents and carnivores, could act as naturally infected hosts of L. infantum in this endemic area. Among the rodents, M. spretus stands out with the highest prevalence of infection. In E. europaeus, the presence of L. infantum DNA in spleen and skin, and antibodies in heart blood, reported here for the first time, indicates this small mammal could be a possible reservoir. Additionally, S. vulgaris, not previously studied as an L. infantum reservoir, showed non-negligible prevalence values, indicating a potential role in leishmaniasis transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Magdalena Alcover
- Parasitology Section, Department of Biology, Healthcare and Environment, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science, University of Barcelona, Av. de Joan XXIII, 27-31, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Alexis Ribas
- Parasitology Section, Department of Biology, Healthcare and Environment, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science, University of Barcelona, Av. de Joan XXIII, 27-31, 08028, Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - M Carmen Guillén
- Parasitology Section, Department of Biology, Healthcare and Environment, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science, University of Barcelona, Av. de Joan XXIII, 27-31, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Diana Berenguer
- Parasitology Section, Department of Biology, Healthcare and Environment, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science, University of Barcelona, Av. de Joan XXIII, 27-31, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Míriam Tomás-Pérez
- Parasitology Section, Department of Biology, Healthcare and Environment, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science, University of Barcelona, Av. de Joan XXIII, 27-31, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Cristina Riera
- Parasitology Section, Department of Biology, Healthcare and Environment, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science, University of Barcelona, Av. de Joan XXIII, 27-31, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Roser Fisa
- Parasitology Section, Department of Biology, Healthcare and Environment, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science, University of Barcelona, Av. de Joan XXIII, 27-31, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
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Hendrickx S, Van Bockstal L, Caljon G, Maes L. In-depth comparison of cell-based methodological approaches to determine drug susceptibility of visceral Leishmania isolates. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0007885. [PMID: 31790397 PMCID: PMC6907865 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Monitoring the drug susceptibility of Leishmania isolates still largely relies on standard in vitro cell-based susceptibility assays using (patient-isolated) promastigotes for infection. Although this assay is widely used, no fully standardized/harmonized protocol is yet available hence resulting in the application of a wide variety of host cells (primary cells and cell lines), different drug exposure times, detection methods and endpoint criteria. Advocacy for standardization to decrease inter-laboratory variation and improve interpretation of results has already repeatedly been made, unfortunately still with unsatisfactory progress. As a logical next step, it would be useful to reach at least some agreement on the type of host cell and basic experimental design for routine amastigote susceptibility determination. The present laboratory study using different L. infantum strains as a model for visceral leishmaniasis species compared primary cells (mouse peritoneal exudate (PEC), mouse bone marrow derived macrophages and human peripheral blood monocyte derived macrophages) and commercially available cell lines (THP-1, J774, RAW) for either their susceptibility to infection, their role in supporting intracellular amastigote multiplication and overall feasibility/accessibility of experimental assay protocol. The major findings were that primary cells are better than cell lines in supporting infection and intracellular parasite multiplication, with PECs to be preferred for technical reasons. Cell lines require drug exposure of >96h with THP-1 to be preferred but subject to a variable response to PMA stimulation. The fast dividing J774 and RAW cells out-compete parasite-infected cells precluding proper assay read-out. Some findings could possibly also be applicable to cutaneous Leishmania strains, but this still needs cross-checking. Besides inherent limitations in a clinical setting, susceptibility testing of clinical isolates may remain problematic because of the reliance on patient-derived promastigotes which may exhibit variable degrees of metacyclogenesis and infectivity. Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by parasites belonging to the genus of Leishmania and transmitted by the bite of infected female sand flies. Concerns about the effective control of the disease are rising in view of the increasing number of treatment failures that may be related to drug resistance. Monitoring of drug susceptibility in the field should become an essential asset, however, there is still insufficient harmonization in the laboratory assays. This study focused on the standard intracellular amastigote susceptibility assay and compared protocol variables, such as type of macrophage host cell (primary versus cell lines), multiplicity of infection and duration of drug exposure. Primary cells perform best with little difference between cells derived from Swiss mice or BALB/c mice. From a practical point of view, mouse peritoneal exudate cells can be recommended. If mice would not be available, THP-1 cells are the best alternative. For field strains, metacyclic promastigotes should be used at a multiplicity of infection of 10–15 parasites per cell with drug exposure starting at 24h post-infection and continued for 120h. Unfortunately, susceptibility testing of clinical isolates will remain problematic because of the reliance on promastigotes which may exhibit variable degrees of metacyclogenesis and infectivity. Opting for cell-based assays may be complicated by the fact that dedicated laboratory infrastructure may sometimes be lacking in disease-endemic countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Hendrickx
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Lieselotte Van Bockstal
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Guy Caljon
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Louis Maes
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- * E-mail:
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Portela RD, Soares RP, Passos GP, Larangeira DF, Barral TD, Sampaio JR, Bernardo MF, Alves-Sobrinho EV, Bahia MT, Pinho FA, Barrouin-Melo SM. Leishmania infantum-derived lipophosphoglycan as an antigen in the accurate serodiagnosis of canine leishmaniasis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0007720. [PMID: 31513599 PMCID: PMC6759188 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Lipophosphoglycan (LPG) is the major surface glycoconjugate of Leishmania protozoan and has an important biological role in host-parasite interactions both in the midgut epithelium of the sand fly vector and in the vertebrate macrophages. Canine leishmaniasis (CanL) is a chronic infectious disease predominantly caused by Leishmania infantum. An early and accurate immunodiagnosis of the disease is crucial for veterinary clinical practice and for disease control. In this work, we evaluated L. infantum LPG as an antigen in an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for CanL immunodiagnosis (LPG-ELISA) by testing serum samples from 97 naturally infected dogs with diverse clinical presentations ranging from subclinical infection to severe disease, as evaluated by veterinarian infectologists. Serum samples from healthy dogs from non-endemic areas (n = 68) and from dogs with other infectious diseases (n = 64) were used as controls for assay validation. The performance of the LPG-ELISA was compared with that of an ELISA using the soluble fraction of L. infantum total lysate antigen (TLA). LPG-ELISA presented a superior performance in comparison to TLA-ELISA, with 91.5% sensitivity, 98.5% specificity and 99.7% accuracy. A distinguishing feature of the LPG-ELISA compared to the TLA-ELISA was its higher ability to identify subclinical infection in clinically healthy dogs, in addition to the absence of cross-reactivity with other canine infectious diseases. Finally, LPG-ELISA was compared to TR DPP visceral canine leishmaniasis test, the immunochromatographic test recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. LPG-ELISA exhibited higher values of specificity (98.5% versus 93.1%) and sensitivity (91.5% versus 90.6%) compared to TR DPP. In conclusion, L. infantum-derived LPG was recognized by antibodies elicited during CanL in different infection stages and was shown to be a suitable antigen for specific clinical settings of veterinary diagnosis and for public health usage. Canine leishmaniasis (CanL) caused by Leishmania infantum is a zoonotic disease with high importance for the public health of several countries. L. infantum-infected dogs can be a domestic reservoir of the protozoan parasite for sand flies, which transmit it from dogs to humans during their blood meals. It is important to diagnose and treat infected dogs as early as possible, so the dissemination of CanL and the transmission to humans can be controlled. The currently commercially available assays present problems, such as cross-reaction with other canine diseases and lack of sensitivity in the detection of dogs that do not present clinical signs of disease. In this work, we tested lipophosphoglycan (LPG), a molecule abundantly found in the protozoan´s surface, as an antigen in an immunodiagnostic platform. We were able to see that the assay using LPG is highly sensitive and specific, showed no cross-reaction with other canine infectious diseases and successfully identified infected dogs with no signs of disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Dias Portela
- Laboratory of Immunology and Molecular Biology, Institute of Health Sciences, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA); Salvador, Bahia; Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Pedro Soares
- Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Parasitology, René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation; Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais; Brazil
| | - Gabriela Porfírio Passos
- Laboratory of Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Teaching Hospital of Veterinary Medicine, UFBA; Salvador, Bahia; Brazil
| | - Daniela Farias Larangeira
- Laboratory of Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Teaching Hospital of Veterinary Medicine, UFBA; Salvador, Bahia; Brazil
- Department of Anatomy, Pathology, and Veterinary Clinics of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny, UFBA, Salvador, BA, Brazil, CEP
| | - Thiago Doria Barral
- Laboratory of Immunology and Molecular Biology, Institute of Health Sciences, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA); Salvador, Bahia; Brazil
| | - Julia Ramos Sampaio
- Laboratory of Immunology and Molecular Biology, Institute of Health Sciences, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA); Salvador, Bahia; Brazil
| | - Marcos F. Bernardo
- Laboratory of Immunology and Molecular Biology, Institute of Health Sciences, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA); Salvador, Bahia; Brazil
| | - Edneia Venâncio Alves-Sobrinho
- Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Parasitology, René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation; Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais; Brazil
| | - Maria Terezinha Bahia
- Institute of Exact and Biological Sciences, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Campus Morro do Cruzeiro; Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais; Brazil
| | - Flaviane Alves Pinho
- Laboratory of Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Teaching Hospital of Veterinary Medicine, UFBA; Salvador, Bahia; Brazil
- Department of Anatomy, Pathology, and Veterinary Clinics of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny, UFBA, Salvador, BA, Brazil, CEP
| | - Stella Maria Barrouin-Melo
- Laboratory of Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Teaching Hospital of Veterinary Medicine, UFBA; Salvador, Bahia; Brazil
- Department of Anatomy, Pathology, and Veterinary Clinics of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny, UFBA, Salvador, BA, Brazil, CEP
- * E-mail:
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Staniek ME, Sedda L, Gibson TD, de Souza CF, Costa EM, Dillon RJ, Hamilton JGC. eNose analysis of volatile chemicals from dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum in Brazil. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0007599. [PMID: 31386662 PMCID: PMC6697360 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Revised: 08/16/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Brazil is a neglected, vector-borne, tropical parasitic disease that is responsible for several thousand human deaths every year. The transmission route involves sand flies becoming infected after feeding on infected reservoir host, mainly dogs, and then transmitting the Leishmania infantum parasites while feeding on humans. A major component of the VL control effort is the identification and euthanasia of infected dogs to remove them as a source of infection. A rapid, non-invasive, point-of-care device able to differentiate between the odours of infected and uninfected dogs may contribute towards the accurate diagnosis of canine VL. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We analysed the headspace volatile chemicals from the hair of two groups of dogs collected in 2017 and 2018 using a bench-top eNose volatile organic chemical analyser. The dogs were categorised as infected or uninfected by PCR analysis of blood samples taken by venepuncture and the number of parasites per ml of blood was calculated for each dog by qPCR analysis. We demonstrated using a robust clustering analysis that the eNose data could be discriminated into infected and uninfected categories with specificity >94% and sensitivity >97%. The eNose device and data analysis were sufficiently sensitive to be able to identify infected dogs even when the Leishmania population in the circulating blood was very low. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The study illustrates the potential of the eNose to rapidly and accurately identify dogs infected with Le. infantum. Future improvements to eNose analyser sensor sensitivity, sampling methodology and portability suggest that this approach could significantly improve the diagnosis of VL infected dogs in Brazil with additional potential for effective diagnosis of VL in humans as well as for the diagnosis of other parasitic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica E. Staniek
- Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancashire, United Kingdom
| | - Luigi Sedda
- Centre for Health Informatics Computation and Statistics, Lancaster Medical School, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancashire, United Kingdom
| | - Tim D. Gibson
- RoboScientific Ltd., Espace North, Littleport, Cambridgeshire
| | | | - Erika M. Costa
- Laboratório de Pesquisa em Leishmaniose, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Rod J. Dillon
- Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancashire, United Kingdom
| | - James G. C. Hamilton
- Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancashire, United Kingdom
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Iatta R, Furlanello T, Colella V, Tarallo VD, Latrofa MS, Brianti E, Trerotoli P, Decaro N, Lorusso E, Schunack B, Mirò G, Dantas-Torres F, Otranto D. A nationwide survey of Leishmania infantum infection in cats and associated risk factors in Italy. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0007594. [PMID: 31306417 PMCID: PMC6667148 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2019] [Revised: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Though scantly investigated, Leishmania infantum infection and clinical cases of leishmaniasis in cats have been recently reported in several countries of the Mediterranean basin, with large variability in prevalence data. A major limitation in the comparability of the data available is attributed to the differences in diagnostic techniques employed and cat populations sampled. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of L. infantum infection in owned cats across Italy by serological and molecular tests and the identification of potential risk factors. Blood samples from 2,659 cats from northern (n = 1,543), central (n = 471) and southern (n = 645) Italy were tested for antibodies against L. infantum, by an immunofluorescence antibody test and for the parasites’ DNA, by real-time PCR. Samples were additionally screened for feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) proviral DNAs. An overall cumulative L. infantum prevalence of 3.9% was recorded by serology (3.3%) and/or qPCR (0.8%), with a higher rate (10.5%) in southern Italy. The risk of L. infantum infection in cats was significantly associated to the geographical areas (South vs North and Centre; p<0.0001), age class (from 19 months to 6 years old vs ≤18 months old, p = 0.0003), neutering status (not neutered vs neutered, p = 0.0028) and FIV infection (p = 0.0051).Though the role of cats in the epidemiology of L. infantum is still debated, our findings indicate that cats are exposed to and/or infected by this protozoan, mainly in endemic regions of Italy. Hence, a standardization of procedures for a prompt diagnosis of L. infantum infection in cats and for screening cat population is crucial for a better understanding of the epidemiology of feline leishmaniasis, and of the potential role of cats in the transmission cycle of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis. Zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis is a potentially fatal parasitic disease, which is caused by Leishmania infantum. Its distribution is associated with the occurrence of the sand fly vectors and reservoir hosts. Since L. infantum infection can occur in cats with clinical or subclinical outcomes, the role of cats in the epidemiology of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis needs to be thoroughly assessed. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and associated risk factors for infection with L. infantum in a large subset of cats across Italy, a known endemic area with records of human cases of visceral leishmaniasis. Serum and blood samples from 2,659 cats from northern (n = 1,543), central (n = 471) and southern (n = 645) Italy were tested for antibodies against L. infantum and parasites’ DNA, respectively. A cumulative L. infantum prevalence of 3.9% was recorded by serology (3.3%) and/or real-time PCR (0.8%). The risk of L. infantum infection in cats was associated to the geographical areas, age class, neutering status and feline immunodeficiency virus infection. These findings reveal that cats are exposed to and/or infected by this protozoan across the country, warranting further investigation to assess their role in the epidemiology of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis to refine surveillance and prevention strategies against this veterinary and medically important ailment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Iatta
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari, Italy
| | | | - Vito Colella
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari, Italy
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | | | | | - Emanuele Brianti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Paolo Trerotoli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Oncologia Umana, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Nicola Decaro
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Eleonora Lorusso
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari, Italy
| | | | - Guadalupe Mirò
- Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
| | - Filipe Dantas-Torres
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari, Italy
- Department of Immunology, Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Recife, Brazil
| | - Domenico Otranto
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari, Italy
- * E-mail:
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Díaz RG, Salvatierra KA, Silva GA, Deschutter EJ, Bornay-Llinares FJ, Acosta L. First molecular characterization of Leishmania infantum species in patients infected with visceral leishmaniasis in Misiones province, Argentina. Biomedica 2019; 39:405-414. [PMID: 31529825 DOI: 10.7705/biomedica.v39i2.4378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Introduction: Cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. braziliensis has been historically endemic in Argentina and several cases of visceral leishmaniasis following initial cutaneous leishmaniasis have been reported. Visceral leishmaniasis started to appear in Argentina in 2006 in the city of Posadas, Misiones province, affecting both humans and dogs. Objective: To identify the etiologic agent to species level in patients with visceral leishmaniasis diagnosis in Misiones province and describe its clinical and epidemiological characteristics. Materials and methods: A cohort of 24 patients from Misiones province was studied from 2009 to 2016, all with a confirmed diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. To identify the Leishmania species involved, patient samples were analyzed by microscopy, serologic studies, DNA detection, and sequencing. Variables such as age, sex, place of residence, clinical signs and symptoms consistent with visceral leishmaniasis were also recorded. Results: 75% (18/24) of the patients studied were males and 25% (6/24) were younger than 4 years. The most frequent symptom was a prolonged fever in 87.5% of the patients (21/24), followed by splenomegaly in 70.8% (17/24). Leishmania infantum was the only parasite species identified in all patients. Conclusion: This finding constitutes the first molecular identification of the Leishmania infantum species in autochthonous patients of Misiones province, Argentina. This study highlights the importance of PCR for species identification in epidemiological studies of visceral leishmaniosis in Argentina.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo G Díaz
- Cátedra de Parasitología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Químicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Misiones, Posadas, Misiones, Argentina.
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Medkour H, Davoust B, Dulieu F, Maurizi L, Lamour T, Marié JL, Mediannikov O. Potential animal reservoirs (dogs and bats) of human visceral leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum in French Guiana. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0007456. [PMID: 31216270 PMCID: PMC6602241 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Revised: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
In French Guiana, cutaneous leishmaniasis is highly endemic, whereas no autochthonous case of visceral leishmaniasis have been reported so far. However, due to its proximity to Brazil which is highly endemic for visceral leishmaniasis, and the high transboundary population flow, an epidemiological challenge could arise at any time. As an overseas department and region and the largest outermost region of the European Union, epidemiological surveillance of visceral leishmaniasis is of great importance. Our study aimed to investigate the presence of Leishmania spp. in domestic (dogs) and sylvatic (bats) animals from French Guiana. Over the 2008-2018 period, samples from 349 animals were collected. They included blood from 179 autochthonous dogs and 59 bats, spleen samples from 33 bats and, blood from 78 military working dogs (MWD) collected before their departure from continental France and at the end of their four-month stay in French Guiana. Samples were screened using real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays targeting Leishmania DNA followed by sequencing of 18S rRNA, kDNA and ITS2 genes. L. infantum was detected in 2.3% (8/349) of animals with 1.7% (3/179) of autochthonous dogs, 5.1% (4/78) of MWD returning from French Guiana, whereas they were negative before their departure. One of them dates back to 2012. All these dogs were positive for serological tests. In addition, L. infantum DNA was detectable in one bat spleen sample, belonging to Carollia perspicillata species. We report here for the first time an infection with L. infantum in dogs and bat from French Guiana. Our results suggest the existence of potential reservoir and transmission cycle for visceral leishmaniasis, at least since 2012, which was unknown in this territory until now. Further studies are needed to determine how these animals were infected and which vectors are involved in the transmission in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hacène Medkour
- Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, AP-HM, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée-Infection, Marseille, France
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Bernard Davoust
- Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, AP-HM, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée-Infection, Marseille, France
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Animal Epidemiology Working Group of the Military Health Service, Marseille, France
| | | | | | | | - Jean-Lou Marié
- Animal Epidemiology Working Group of the Military Health Service, Marseille, France
- French Army Health Service, Paris, France
| | - Oleg Mediannikov
- Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, AP-HM, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée-Infection, Marseille, France
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
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Abstract
Canine pathogens transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods are of significant importance for veterinary and, in some cases, human health. However, they are still underestimated and rarely investigated in many parts of the Mediterranean region, mostly due to financial reasons. Therefore, in the present paper, we investigated the occurrence of blood-associated pathogens affecting dogs in Crete, Greece. For this purpose, blood samples from 103 shelter dogs were screened for the pathogens by PCR and serological tests. Overall, samples from 43 dogs scored positive for at least one pathogen (41.8%). In particular, antibodies to Leishmania infantum were detected in 26 dogs (25.2%), and 15 and 11 animals were positive for Hepatozoon canis (14.6%) and Mycoplasma haemocanis (10.7%) by PCR, respectively. Co-infections were recorded in nine animals. Clinical signs indicative of infection (alterations of skin or coat or reduced body condition) were detected in 10 animals, four of which were infected with one pathogen, three with two pathogens. Based on the results obtained, dogs from Crete appear to be frequently exposed to several blood-borne pathogens, including agents of zoonotic concern. Given that some of the pathogens were reported for the first time in this area, results presented in our study should improve the awareness of the local veterinarians and of dog rescue organisations in order to reduce disease burden on stray and owned dogs and to control the spread of canine vector-borne diseases from Greece to non-endemic areas by travelling or exported infected dogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Hofmann
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Adnan Hodžić
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Niki Pouliou
- Animal Medical Center, Kýprou 61, 722 00 Ierapetra, Greece
| | - Anja Joachim
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
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Rodrigues de Oliveira A, Pinheiro GRG, Tinoco HP, Loyola ME, Coelho CM, Dias ES, Monteiro ÉM, de Oliveira Lara e Silva F, Pessanha AT, Souza AGM, Pereira NCL, Gontijo NF, Fujiwara RT, Alves da Paixão T, Santos RL. Competence of non-human primates to transmit Leishmania infantum to the invertebrate vector Lutzomyia longipalpis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0007313. [PMID: 30995227 PMCID: PMC6488095 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2018] [Revised: 04/29/2019] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease of worldwide relevance. Visceral leishmaniasis is endemic in Brazil, where it is caused by Leishmania infantum with Lutzomyia longipalpis being the most important invertebrate vector. Non-human primates are susceptible to L. infantum infection. However, little is known about the role of these species as reservoirs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the transmissibility potential of visceral leishmaniasis by non-human primates through xenodiagnosis using the phlebotomine Lu. longipalpis as well as to identify phlebotomine species prevalent in the area where the primates were kept in captivity, and assess infection by Leishmania in captured phlebotomine specimens. Fifty two non-human primates kept in captivity in an endemic area for leishmaniasis were subjected to xenodiagnosis. All primates were serologically tested for detection of anti-Leishmania antibodies. Additionally, an anti-Lu. longipalpis saliva ELISA was performed. Sand flies fed on all animals were tested by qPCR to identify and quantify L. infantum promastigotes. Eight of the 52 non-human primates were positive by xenodiagnosis, including three Pan troglodytes, three Leontopithecus rosalia, one Sapajus apella, and one Miopithecus talapoin, with estimated numbers of promastigotes ranging from 5.67 to 1,181.93 per μg of DNA. Positive animals had higher levels of IgG anti-Lu. longipalpis saliva when compared to negative animals, prior to xenodiagnosis. Captive non-human primates are capable of infecting Lu. longipalpis with L. infantum. Our findings also demonstrate the relevance of non-human primates as sentinels to zoonotic diseases. Several phlebotomine species, including Lu. longipalpis, have been identified in the area where the primates were maintained, but only one pool of Lutzomyia lenti was infected with L. infantum. This study has implications for public health strategies and conservation medicine. Visceral leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution. The disease is endemic in several Brazilian regions, including the city of Belo Horizonte, where visceral leishmaniasis is caused by Leishmania infantum and transmitted by Lutzomyia longipalpis. This study evaluated the competence of non-human primates to infect Lutzomyia longipalpis with Leishmania infantum. Eight of 52 non-human primates were positive to leishmaniasis by xenodiagnosis, i.e. capable of infecting sand flies, with averages of 5.67 to 1,181.93 promastigotes/μg of DNA. Positive animals had higher levels of IgG anti-Lu. longipalpis saliva when compared to negative animals, prior to xenodiagnosis. This study highlights the importance of non-human primates in the leishmaniasis cycle, providing information that is relevant for development of better public health strategies, and to conservation medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayisa Rodrigues de Oliveira
- Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Guilherme Rafael Gomide Pinheiro
- Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Herlandes P. Tinoco
- Fundação de Parques Municipais e Zoobotânica de Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Maria Elvira Loyola
- Fundação de Parques Municipais e Zoobotânica de Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Carlyle Mendes Coelho
- Fundação de Parques Municipais e Zoobotânica de Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Angela Tinoco Pessanha
- Fundação de Parques Municipais e Zoobotânica de Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | | | - Nelder F. Gontijo
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Ricardo T. Fujiwara
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Tatiane Alves da Paixão
- Departamento de Patologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Renato Lima Santos
- Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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Bari AU, Khan NH. Cutaneous Leishmaniasis caused by L. Infantum. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak 2019; 29:396-397. [PMID: 30925973 DOI: 10.29271/jcpsp.2019.04.396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2016] [Accepted: 10/18/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Arfan Ul Bari
- Department of Dermatology, CMH, Malir Cantt, Karachi, Pakistan
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Cazan CD, Păstrav IR, Györke A, Oguz G, Alten B, Mihalca AD. Seasonal dynamics of a population of Phlebotomus (Larroussius) perfiliewi Parrot, 1930 (Diptera: Psychodidae) in North-Eastern Romania. Parasitol Res 2019; 118:1371-1384. [PMID: 30911912 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-019-06296-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Sand flies were collected in a location from Romania in order to estimate their abundance and seasonal variation in correlation with environmental and anthropic factors. From May to October 2017, eight premises with different animal species were sampled for sand flies in a household from Fundătura village, Vaslui County, in North-Eastern Romania. Animal-related data, shelter-related data, and climatic parameters were recorded. All (n = 150) collected sand flies were Phlebotomus perfiliewi. A mono-modal type of abundance trend has been recorded (a single peak at the beginning of August). The first day of capture was in mid-July. The total number of females during the peak season was significantly higher than the total number of males. The highest percentage of males was recorded at the beginning and at the end of the sand fly activity. Only the traps placed in the poultry enclosure built from clay and wood were positive. A strong positive correlation was recorded between the total number of collected sand flies and the minimum and the maximum temperature. The analysis of the climatic data shows that the first presence of sand flies was registered only after the average minimum temperature for the previous 7 days was above 15 °C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Daniela Cazan
- Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
| | - Ioana Raluca Păstrav
- Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Adriana Györke
- Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Gizem Oguz
- Department of Biology, Ecology Section, Faculty of Science, VERG Laboratories, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Bulent Alten
- Department of Biology, Ecology Section, Faculty of Science, VERG Laboratories, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Andrei Daniel Mihalca
- Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Rêgo FD, Souza GD, Dornelles LFP, Andrade Filho JD. Ecology and Molecular Detection of Leishmania infantum Nicolle, 1908 (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatida) in Wild-Caught Sand Flies (Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) Collected in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul: A New Focus of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Brazil. J Med Entomol 2019; 56:519-525. [PMID: 30321358 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjy175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Phlebotomine sand flies are hematophagous insect vectors of the protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania Ross, 1903 (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatida) that infect mammals, including humans, causing leishmaniasis. In Porto Alegre, Brazil, three autochthonous cases of human visceral leishmaniasis were reported in 2016 through 2017. We analyzed for the presence of Leishmania DNA in sand flies collected at the neighborhood of Agronomia, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Phlebotomine sand flies were collected at three sites from October 2014 to September 2015. Female sand flies were pooled in numbers from 1 to 20 depending upon species, locality, and date; all were screened for Leishmania infection by the amplification of the ITS1 region. In total 518 phlebotomine sand flies were collected: Psathyromyia lanei (Barretto and Coutinho, 1941) (Diptera: Psychodidae) (30.5%), Brumptomyia sp. (França and Parrrot, 1921) (Diptera: Psychodidae) (25.7%), Migonemyia migonei (Franca, 1920) (Diptera: Psychodidae) (21.4%), Pintomyia fischeri (Pinto, 1926) (Diptera: Psychodidae) (21.4%), and Nyssomyia neivai (Pinto, 1926) (Diptera: Psychodidae) (1.0%). Most sand flies were collected during the hot and rainy season from October 2014 to April 2015. Of the 113 pools analyzed, five pools of Pi. fischeri were PCR-positive with the amplicons possessing sequences similar (>95%) to that of Leishmania infantum Nicolle, 1908 (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatida). These results represent the first molecular detection of Le. infantum in Pi. fischeri. It is possible that Pi. fischeri is involved in the transmission cycle of Le. infantum in the studied area; however, further studies are needed to establish the true role of Pi. fischeri in the visceral leismaniasis cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Dutra Rêgo
- Grupo de Estudo em Leishmanioses, Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Getúlio Dornelles Souza
- Núcleo de Flebotomíneos, Laboratório Central de Saúde Pública do Rio Grande do Sul, Secretaria de Saúde do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
- Núcleo de Vigilância de Roedores e Vetores, Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | | | - José Dilermando Andrade Filho
- Grupo de Estudo em Leishmanioses, Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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Toepp AJ, Monteiro GRG, Coutinho JFV, Lima AL, Larson M, Wilson G, Grinnage-Pulley T, Bennett C, Mahachi K, Anderson B, Ozanne MV, Anderson M, Fowler H, Parrish M, Willardson K, Saucier J, Tyrell P, Palmer Z, Buch J, Chandrashekar R, Brown GD, Oleson JJ, Jeronimo SMB, Petersen CA. Comorbid infections induce progression of visceral leishmaniasis. Parasit Vectors 2019; 12:54. [PMID: 30674329 PMCID: PMC6345068 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-019-3312-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2018] [Accepted: 01/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a vector borne zoonotic disease endemic in humans and dogs in Brazil. Due to the increased risk of human infection secondary to the presence of infected dogs, public health measures in Brazil mandate testing and culling of infected dogs. Despite this important relationship between human and canine infection, little is known about what makes the dog reservoir progress to clinical illness, significantly tied to infectiousness to sand flies. Dogs in endemic areas of Brazil are exposed to many tick-borne pathogens, which are likely to alter the immune environment and thus control of L. infantum. RESULTS A cross-sectional study of 223 dogs from an area of Natal, in the Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, were studied to determine the association between comorbid tick-borne disease and Leishmania infection in this endemic area. The risk of Leishmania seropositivity was 1.68× greater in dogs with tick-borne disease seropositivity compared to those without (Adjusted RR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.09-2.61, P = 0.019). A longitudinal study of 214 hunting dogs in the USA was conducted to determine the causal relationship between infection with tick-borne diseases and progression of VL. Hunting dogs were evaluated three times across a full tick season to detect incident infection with tick-borne diseases. A logistic regression model with generalized estimating equations to estimate the parameters was used to determine how exposure to tick-borne disease altered VL progression over these three time points when controlling for other variables. Dogs infected with three or more tick-borne diseases were 11× more likely to be associated with progression to clinical VL than dogs with no tick-borne disease (Adjusted RR: 11.64, 95% CI: 1.22-110.99, P = 0.03). Dogs with exposure to both Leishmania spp. and tick-borne diseases were five times more likely to die during the study period (RR: 4.85, 95% CI: 1.65-14.24, P = 0.0051). CONCLUSIONS Comorbid tick-borne diseases dramatically increased the likelihood that a dog had clinical L. infantum infection, making them more likely to transmit infection to sand flies and people. As an important consequence, reduction of tick-borne disease exposure through topical or oral insecticides may be an important way to reduce progression and transmissibility of Leishmania infection from the canine reservoir to people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela J. Toepp
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Iowa Research Park, Coralville, Iowa 52241 USA
| | - Glória R. G. Monteiro
- Institute of Tropical Medicine of Rio Grande do Norte, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN 59078-970 Brazil
| | - José F. V. Coutinho
- Institute of Tropical Medicine of Rio Grande do Norte, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN 59078-970 Brazil
| | - Adam Leal Lima
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Iowa Research Park, Coralville, Iowa 52241 USA
| | - Mandy Larson
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Iowa Research Park, Coralville, Iowa 52241 USA
| | - Geneva Wilson
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Iowa Research Park, Coralville, Iowa 52241 USA
| | - Tara Grinnage-Pulley
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Iowa Research Park, Coralville, Iowa 52241 USA
| | - Carolyne Bennett
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Iowa Research Park, Coralville, Iowa 52241 USA
| | - Kurayi Mahachi
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Iowa Research Park, Coralville, Iowa 52241 USA
| | - Bryan Anderson
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Iowa Research Park, Coralville, Iowa 52241 USA
| | - Marie V. Ozanne
- Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
| | - Michael Anderson
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Iowa Research Park, Coralville, Iowa 52241 USA
| | - Hailie Fowler
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Immunology Program, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
| | - Molly Parrish
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Iowa Research Park, Coralville, Iowa 52241 USA
| | - Kelsey Willardson
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Iowa Research Park, Coralville, Iowa 52241 USA
| | - Jill Saucier
- IDEXX Laboratories Inc., One IDEXX Drive, Westbrook, Maine 04092 USA
| | - Phyllis Tyrell
- IDEXX Laboratories Inc., One IDEXX Drive, Westbrook, Maine 04092 USA
| | - Zachary Palmer
- Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
| | - Jesse Buch
- IDEXX Laboratories Inc., One IDEXX Drive, Westbrook, Maine 04092 USA
| | | | - Grant D. Brown
- Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
| | - Jacob J. Oleson
- Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
| | - Selma M. B. Jeronimo
- Institute of Tropical Medicine of Rio Grande do Norte, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN 59078-970 Brazil
| | - Christine A. Petersen
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
- Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Iowa Research Park, Coralville, Iowa 52241 USA
- Immunology Program, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 USA
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Costa PL, Brazil RP, Fuzari AA, Latrofa MS, Annoscia G, Tarallo VD, Capelli G, Otranto D, Brandão-Filho SP, Dantas-Torres F. Morphological and phylogenetic analyses of Lutzomyia migonei from three Brazilian states. Acta Trop 2018; 187:144-150. [PMID: 30063885 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2018.07.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 07/08/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Lutzomyia migonei is incriminated as a vector of Leishmania braziliensis, the main causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Brazil. Recently, this phlebotomine sand fly species has been suggested as a vector for Leishmania infantum, which causes zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis. Considering the widespread distribution of Lu. migonei in South America, the existence of isolated populations has been hypothesized. Three Lu. migonei populations, two from north-eastern Brazil (Machados, Pernambuco State, and Baturité, Ceará State) and other from the south-eastern region (Niterói, Rio de Janeiro State) were analysed both morphologically and genetically. Though no significant morphological differences were found amongst the sand fly specimens analysed, discriminant analysis based on specific morphometric characters (i.e., length of wing, antennal segment 3 and coxite for males, and length of wing and antennal segment 3 for females), showed that specimens from Machados were closer to Baturité than to Niterói. The molecular analysis of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequences also supported this observation by the distinct separation of two monophyletic clades, grouping specimens from Machados and Baturité separately from those of Niterói. Our results suggest the existence of different populations within the distribution range of Lu. migonei. Whether these populations are reproductively isolated and/or present differences in terms of vector competence/capacity for L. braziliensis and L. infantum needs to be further investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietra Lemos Costa
- Departamento de Imunologia, Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fiocruz, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | | | | | - Maria Stefania Latrofa
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", Valenzano, Bari, Italy
| | - Giada Annoscia
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", Valenzano, Bari, Italy
| | - Viviana Domenica Tarallo
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", Valenzano, Bari, Italy
| | - Gioia Capelli
- Laboratorio di Parassitologia, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Domenico Otranto
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", Valenzano, Bari, Italy
| | | | - Filipe Dantas-Torres
- Departamento de Imunologia, Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fiocruz, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", Valenzano, Bari, Italy.
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40
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Haque L, Villanueva M, Russo A, Yuan Y, Lee EJ, Topal J, Podoltsev N. A rare case of visceral leishmaniasis in an immunocompetent traveler returning to the United States from Europe. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006727. [PMID: 30286207 PMCID: PMC6171829 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
A young, healthy traveler returning to the United States presented with fever, night sweats, splenomegaly, and pancytopenia. Bone marrow biopsy revealed leishmaniasis (Leishmania infantum), likely acquired in southern France. Although many cases of endemic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) have been reported in Europe, this is a rare case of imported VL in a healthy traveler returning from Europe to the US. Despite successful initial treatment with liposomal amphotericin B (LamB), relapse occurred. Treatments for VL in immunocompetent individuals are highly effective, but relapse can occur. There is more extensive experience in endemic areas with treating relapse that may be lacking in North America. This case alerts physicians in the US that immunocompetent adults can acquire VL during brief visits to endemic areas in Europe. It is important that travelers be counseled on preventive measures. Patients should be monitored after treatment for relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lamia Haque
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of General Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Merceditas Villanueva
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Armand Russo
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Hematology and Oncology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Youzhong Yuan
- Department of Pathology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, United States of America
| | - Eun-Ju Lee
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Hematology and Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey Topal
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Nikolai Podoltsev
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Hematology and Oncology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Nazari-Vanani R, Sattarahmady N, Yadegari H, Delshadi N, Hatam GR, Heli H. Electrochemical quantitation of Leishmania infantum based on detection of its kDNA genome and transduction of non-spherical gold nanoparticles. Anal Chim Acta 2018; 1041:40-49. [PMID: 30340689 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2018.08.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2017] [Revised: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Detecting and monitoring the pathogens with high selectivity and sensitivity is critical for public health. In the present study, we demonstrated a specific analytical strategy for sensitive detection of Leishmania infantum genome. The developed sensor utilized toluidine blue as a hybridization indicator and a Leishmania infantum-specific capture DNA sequence immobilized on a high-surface area gold nanostructure as an electrochemical transducer. The produced analytical response was based on the hybridization of the single-stranded DNA from the target with the immobilized DNA sequence at the electrode surface. The developed DNA sensor in this study was successfully employed to detect a synthetic Leishmania infantum target sequence in a wide concentration range from 1 × 10-18 to 1 × 10-10 mol L-1 with a detection limit of 0.2 amol L-1 with the ability to discriminate the target sequence from mismatched sequences. Moreover, the designed DNA sensor showed a good reproducibility and stability during repeated regeneration and hybridization cycles. The DNA sensor could detect Leishmania infantum genome in a wide concentration range from 15 to 50 ng μL-1 with a detection limit of 29 ng μL-1. Furthermore, clinical trials confirmed the applicability of the developed DNA sensor for practical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Nazari-Vanani
- Nanomedicine and Nanobiology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - N Sattarahmady
- Nanomedicine and Nanobiology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - H Yadegari
- Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B9, Canada
| | - N Delshadi
- Nanomedicine and Nanobiology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Fars Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research, Shiraz, Iran
| | - G R Hatam
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - H Heli
- Nanomedicine and Nanobiology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
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Knudsen DK, Kofoed K, Hjorth SV. [Not Available]. Ugeskr Laeger 2018; 180:V69596. [PMID: 29984701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
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de Sousa Ferreira T, Timbó RV, Minuzzi-Souza TTC, de Almeida Rocha D, Neiva M, de Albuquerque Ribeiro J, de Almeida PS, Hecht M, Nitz N, Gurgel-Gonçalves R. High molecular prevalence of Leishmania in phlebotomine sand flies fed on chicken blood in Brazil. Vet Parasitol 2018; 259:80-84. [PMID: 30056989 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2018.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Revised: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 07/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniases are endemic in Brazil, where Leishmania infantum has been detected in humans, dogs, cats, and phlebotomine vectors. Monitoring synanthropic vector populations is critical for leishmaniasis control-surveillance in such transmission-prone areas. Here, a suite of molecular approaches were used to assess Leishmania infection prevalence and to identify blood-meal sources in a large sample of sand flies collected in anthropic environments of a Leishmania-transmission area in Mato Grosso do Sul State (Rio Verde de Mato Grosso municipality), Central-West Brazil. We sampled sand flies monthly (January-June 2014 and 2016) in one peri-domestic site within each of six neighborhoods with recent records of human visceral and/or tegumentary leishmaniasis. kDNA-qPCR plus rDNA ITS-sequencing were used to detect and identify Leishmania in pooled female sand flies. Individual engorged females (n = 58) were used for blood-meal analyses through High-Resolution Melting (HRM) targeting the mtDNA cytb gene. Overall, 90.5% of 420 CDC trap-nights yielded vectors, for a total catch of 24,989 sand flies. We sub-sampled and identified 3088 sand flies of 12 species, including 2775 Lutzomyia longipalpis (the most abundant species at all sampling sites) and 297 Nyssomyia whitmani. Female sand flies (n = 1261) were grouped in 159 pools, of which 92 Lu. longipalpis (minimum infection rate [MIR] 8%) and 7 Ny. whitmani pools (MIR 7%) were Leishmania kDNA-positive. Most positive Lu. longipalpis were collected in the 2016 rainy season. Sequencing confirmed L. infantum in Lu. longipalpis samples. HRM analyses identified chicken DNA in 57 sand flies (98.3%), 37 of which were Leishmania DNA-positive (64.9%); human blood was found in just one (Leishmania-negative) female. Our data show ongoing risk of L. infantum transmission to humans in the study area, where Leishmania-infected sandfly vectors are common and heavily rely on chicken blood in the peri-domestic environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tauana de Sousa Ferreira
- Laboratório de Parasitologia Médica e Biologia de Vetores, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
| | - Renata Velôzo Timbó
- Laboratório de Parasitologia Médica e Biologia de Vetores, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
| | - Thaís T C Minuzzi-Souza
- Laboratório de Parasitologia Médica e Biologia de Vetores, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
| | - Douglas de Almeida Rocha
- Laboratório de Parasitologia Médica e Biologia de Vetores, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
| | - Mariana Neiva
- Laboratório de Parasitologia Médica e Biologia de Vetores, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
| | - Joana de Albuquerque Ribeiro
- Laboratório de Parasitologia Médica e Biologia de Vetores, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
| | - Paulo Silva de Almeida
- Laboratório Regional de Entomologia, Núcleo Regional de Saúde da Secretaria Estadual de Saúde, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
| | - Mariana Hecht
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Biociências, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
| | - Nadjar Nitz
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Biociências, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Gurgel-Gonçalves
- Laboratório de Parasitologia Médica e Biologia de Vetores, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil.
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Rugna G, Carra E, Bergamini F, Calzolari M, Salvatore D, Corpus F, Gennari W, Baldelli R, Fabbi M, Natalini S, Vitale F, Varani S, Merialdi G. Multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) reveals host-related population structure in Leishmania infantum from northeastern Italy. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006595. [PMID: 29975697 PMCID: PMC6057669 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Revised: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania infantum is an ongoing health problem in southern Europe, where dogs are considered the main reservoirs of the disease. Current data point to a northward spread of VL and canine leishmaniasis (CanL) in Italy, with new foci in northern regions previously regarded as non-endemic. Methodology/Principal findings Multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) was performed to investigate genetic diversity and population structure of L. infantum on 55 samples from infected humans, dogs and sand flies of the E-R region between 2013 and 2017. E-R samples were compared with 10 L. infantum samples from VL cases in other Italian regions (extra E-R) and with 52 strains within the L. donovani complex. Data displayed significant microsatellite polymorphisms with low allelic heterozygosity. Forty-one unique and eight repeated MLMT profiles were recognized among the L. infantum samples from E-R, and ten unique MLMT profiles were assigned to the extra E-R samples. Bayesian analysis assigned E-R samples to two distinct populations, with further sub-structuring within each of them; all CanL samples belonged to one population, genetically related to Mediterranean MON-1 strains, while all but one VL cases as well as the isolate from the sand fly Phlebotomus perfiliewi fell under the second population. Conversely, VL samples from other Italian regions proved to be genetically similar to strains circulating in dogs. Conclusions/Significance A peculiar epidemiological situation was observed in northeastern Italy, with the co-circulation of two distinct populations of L. infantum; one population mainly detected in dogs and the other population detected in humans and in a sand fly. While the classical cycle of CanL in Italy fits well into the data obtained for the first population, the population found in infected humans exhibits a different cycle, probably not involving a canine reservoir. This study can contribute to a better understanding of the population structure of L. infantum circulating in northeastern Italy, thus providing useful epidemiologic information for public health authorities. Visceral leishmaniasis is a sand fly-borne disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. Leishmania infantum is the only parasitic species circulating in Italy and dogs are considered the main reservoirs of the disease. In this study, 55 L. infantum strains obtained from humans, dogs and sand flies from the Emiliana-Romagna (E-R) region, northeastern Italy, were assessed using multilocus microsatellite typing, a tool applied for population genetic studies. Results were compared with those obtained from 10 samples of visceral leishmaniasis cases occurring in other Italian regions and with 52 strains of the L. donovani complex from other foci of leishmaniasis. Our genetic analysis revealed that canine and human L. infantum strains from the E-R region were separated in two distinct populations; all samples obtained from dogs belonged to one population, while all but one human samples as well as a sand fly sample fell under another population. Samples from patients with visceral leishmaniasis from other Italian regions proved to be genetically similar to strains circulating in dogs. Our findings raise questions on the role of dogs as main reservoirs for human visceral leishmaniasis in the investigated area of northeastern Italy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianluca Rugna
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia-Romagna, Brescia, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Elena Carra
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia-Romagna, Brescia, Italy
| | - Federica Bergamini
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia-Romagna, Brescia, Italy
| | - Mattia Calzolari
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia-Romagna, Brescia, Italy
| | - Daniela Salvatore
- Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Ozzano Emilia, Italy
| | - Francesco Corpus
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia-Romagna, Brescia, Italy
| | - William Gennari
- Dipartimento Integrati Interaziendali Medicina di Laboratorio e Anatomia Patologica, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria, Policlinico di Modena, Italy
| | - Raffaella Baldelli
- Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Ozzano Emilia, Italy
| | - Massimo Fabbi
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia-Romagna, Brescia, Italy
| | - Silvano Natalini
- Department of Animal Health, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale, Bologna, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Vitale
- National Reference Center for Leishmaniasis (C.Re.Na.L.), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Palermo, Italy
| | - Stefania Varani
- Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Regional Reference Centre for Microbiological Emergencies (CRREM), St. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Merialdi
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia-Romagna, Brescia, Italy
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Bruhn FRP, Morais MHF, Cardoso DL, Bruhn NCP, Ferreira F, Rocha CMBMD. Spatial and temporal relationships between human and canine visceral leishmaniases in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 2006-2013. Parasit Vectors 2018; 11:372. [PMID: 29954428 PMCID: PMC6022701 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-018-2877-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2017] [Accepted: 04/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis is a serious public health problem in Brazil, and control of this disease constitutes a major challenge. The purpose of this study was to assess the existing spatial and temporal relationships between cases of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CanL) and human visceral leishmaniasis (HVL) recorded in Belo Horizonte, State of Minas Gerais, from 2006 to 2013. METHODS Data provided by the Belo Horizonte Health Services regarding the disease control routine were analyzed in order to perform a retrospective observational and ecological study. Information regarding the incidence rate of HVL and canine seroprevalence was examined in relation to control actions performed atthe 148 coverage areas of healthcare centers for the period between 2006 and 2013. A time series analysis was performed using the Gretl 1.9.12 software followed by the assessment of the existing increasing or declining trend and seasonality in the occurrence of CanL and HVL. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were adjusted, intervention analysis was performed, vector autoregressive models were developed, and Granger causality was used for testing temporal relationships between variables. The hot spot analysis tool was used for cluster identification through Getis-OrdGi statistics. The ArcGis for desktop 10.2.1 software was used for spatial analysis. RESULTS We identified 866 HVL cases in Belo Horizonte between 2006 and 2013. The mean proportion of canine seroprevalence (PCP) was 7.31% and the mean proportion of monitored hosts (PMH) was 6.73%.HVL and PCP showed a decreasing trend, while PMH increased over time (P<0.05). Vector Autoregressive (VAR) and Granger analysis showed a temporal relation between CanL and HVL cases. Maps illustrating the spatial distribution of cases and obituaries of HVL and CanL cases also showed an apparent association between the occurrence of leishmaniasis in humans, and data about canine cases recorded in the previous years. CONCLUSIONS Cases of HVL were preceded by PMH and PCP cases. Similar results were observed for intraspecific cases (i.e. between PCP and other canine cases and between HVL and other HVL cases), which indicated the existence of favorable environmental conditions for the transmission and spread of L. infantum in Belo Horizonte.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fábio Raphael Pascoti Bruhn
- Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), Department of Preventive Veterinary, Zoonosis Control Center of UFPel, Capão do Leão, Rio Grande do Sul Brazil
| | | | - Denis Lucio Cardoso
- Department of Preventive Veterinary, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais Brazil
| | - Nádia Campos Pereira Bruhn
- Center of Mercosul Integration, Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul Brazil
| | - Fernando Ferreira
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Bennai K, Tahir D, Lafri I, Bendjaballah-Laliam A, Bitam I, Parola P. Molecular detection of Leishmania infantum DNA and host blood meal identification in Phlebotomus in a hypoendemic focus of human leishmaniasis in northern Algeria. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006513. [PMID: 29958283 PMCID: PMC6042794 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 07/12/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Leishmania parasites are transmitted by female phlebotomine sand flies that maintain the enzootic cycle by circulating between sylvatic and domestic mammals. Humans are part of this cycle as accidental hosts due to the vector's search for a source of blood. In Algeria, Human Leishmaniases (HL) are endemic and represent a serious public health problem because of their high annual incidence and their spread across the country. The aim of this study is to identify sand fly species fauna (vectors of Leishmania), determine their infection rate and identify their feeding preferences using molecular tools in a hypoendemic focus of HL located in the province of Tipaza, northern Algeria. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS An entomological survey using CDC light traps was conducted between July and October of 2015 in four HL affected peri-urban locations in the province of Tipaza, northern Algeria. Sand flies were identified using the morphological criteria of the genitalia for the males and spermathecae for the females. Leishmania DNA was detected in pooled female sand flies (N = 81 pools with 8-10 specimens per pool) using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) targeting two different genes: kDNA-PCR and 18S rRNA. To identify their blood meal sources, blood-fed female sand flies were analyzed by PCR-sequencing targeting the vertebrate cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene. A total of 4,045 sand flies were caught, of which 3,727 specimens were morphologically identified. Seven species were recorded: P. (L.) perniciosus (50.28%), P. (L.) perfiliewi (26.13%), P. (L.) longicuspis (21.92%), Sergentomyia (S.) minuta (0.85%), P. (P.) papatasi (0.42%), P. (L.) langeroni (0.32%) and P. (L.) ariasi (0.05%). Afterwards, 740 female specimens were randomly selected and divided into 81 pools and were then screened to investigate the presence of Leishmania spp. L. infantum DNA was detected in three pools, corresponding to three sand fly specimens (one each). The infection rate was 0.33% (2/600) for P. (L.) perniciosus and 2.56% (1/39) for P. (L.) perfiliewi. Analysis of the blood feeding sources (N = 88 specimens) revealed that sand flies belonging to Larroussius subgenera, mainly (71.5%) feed on small ruminants. Human blood is the second feeding source (17%), eight specimens (9%) were found to feed on equines and no domestic reservoir (dog) blood was found. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The presence of human leishmaniasis cases, the high abundance of Phlebotomus (Larroussius) species which are proven or suspected vectors of L. infantum, and the detection of L. infantum DNA from its natural vectors (P. (L.) perniciosus, P. (L.) perfiliewi), in addition to the blood-feeding of positive females for L. infantum on humans blood, prove that the major elements of the epidemiological transmission cycle of L. infantum are present and indicate risk factors for an outbreak of the disease in the province of Tipaza.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kahina Bennai
- Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, AP-HM, SSA, VITROME, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Laboratoire de Valorisation et Conservation des Ressources Biologiques (VALCOR), Faculté des Sciences, Université M’Hamed Bougara, Boumerdes, Algérie
| | - Djamel Tahir
- Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, AP-HM, SSA, VITROME, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Ismail Lafri
- Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, AP-HM, SSA, VITROME, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Institut des Sciences Vétérinaires, Université Blida 1, Blida, Algérie
| | | | - Idir Bitam
- Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, AP-HM, SSA, VITROME, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Laboratoire Biodiversité et Environnement, Université des Sciences et Technologies Houari Boumediene, Alger, Algérie
- Ecole Supérieure des Sciences de l'Aliment et des Industries Agro-Alimentaires, Alger, Algérie
| | - Philippe Parola
- Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, AP-HM, SSA, VITROME, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
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47
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Santos RCD, Pinho FAD, Passos GP, Larangeira DF, Barrouin-Melo SM. Isolation of naturally infecting Leishmania infantum from canine samples in Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle medium prepared with defibrinated blood from different animal species. Vet Parasitol 2018; 257:10-14. [PMID: 29907186 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2018.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2017] [Revised: 05/20/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The most commonly used culture medium for the in vitro isolation of Leishmania spp. from canine biological samples is biphasic Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle (NNN) medium, whose solid phase is prepared using rabbit blood. Leishmania infantum parasites from natural infections are highly sensitive and demanding for growth in axenic conditions when firstly obtained from the dog's body. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether NNN medium (NNN-test) prepared with chicken blood (NNN-C), ox blood (NNN-O), horse blood (NNN-H) or sheep blood (NNN-S) was viable for the isolation of parasites from naturally infected dogs, in an endemic area for visceral leishmaniasis caused by L. infantum. Spleen aspirates from six dogs previously diagnosed as infected by parasitological methods were simultaneously inoculated in each NNN-test medium, including the conventional medium prepared with rabbit blood (NNN-R), and the cultures were examined for three weeks under optic microscopy. Spleen samples were also analyzed for parasite loads by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Cultures from three of the six dogs (50%) were positive in at least one of the NNN-test media: one sample presented the highest spleen parasite load by qPCR (1.19 × 104 parasites/mL) and was positive in all test media; the second sample presented parasitic isolation in the first week of culture in all inoculated media, of which the NNN-C medium had the highest mean parasite count (NNN-C = 23.5 × 104/mL vs. NNN-R = 3.25 × 104/mL); the third sample was positive only in the NNN-S medium besides the conventional control NNN-R. Cultures from the three remaining dogs were negative in all NNN media, including the control and test media; of those three dogs, two presented the lowest spleen parasitic loads according to qPCR. Blood from chicken, ox, horse and sheep shown to be viable for the preparation of NNN culture medium for the primary isolation of L. infantum from samples of naturally infected dogs and can be considered as an alternative to rabbit blood when necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roseclea Chagas Dos Santos
- Laboratory of Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Teaching Hospital of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Av. Adhemar de Barros 500, Salvador, BA, CEP: 40170-110, Brazil
| | - Flaviane Alves de Pinho
- Laboratory of Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Teaching Hospital of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Av. Adhemar de Barros 500, Salvador, BA, CEP: 40170-110, Brazil; Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Pathology and Clinics of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny, UFBA, Salvador, BA, CEP: 40170-110, Brazil
| | - Gabriela Porfírio Passos
- Laboratory of Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Teaching Hospital of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Av. Adhemar de Barros 500, Salvador, BA, CEP: 40170-110, Brazil
| | - Daniela Farias Larangeira
- Laboratory of Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Teaching Hospital of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Av. Adhemar de Barros 500, Salvador, BA, CEP: 40170-110, Brazil; Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Pathology and Clinics of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny, UFBA, Salvador, BA, CEP: 40170-110, Brazil
| | - Stella Maria Barrouin-Melo
- Laboratory of Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Teaching Hospital of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Av. Adhemar de Barros 500, Salvador, BA, CEP: 40170-110, Brazil; Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Pathology and Clinics of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny, UFBA, Salvador, BA, CEP: 40170-110, Brazil.
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48
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Knudsen DK, Kofoed K. [Not Available]. Ugeskr Laeger 2018; 180:V69596. [PMID: 29804562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
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49
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Galvis-Ovallos F, Casanova C, Pimentel Bergamaschi D, Bianchi Galati EA. A field study of the survival and dispersal pattern of Lutzomyia longipalpis in an endemic area of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006333. [PMID: 29608563 PMCID: PMC5880336 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Zoonotic Visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) is a neglected tropical disease that in the Americas is caused by the infection of Leishmania infantum and the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) is the main parasite reservoir in urban areas. The parasite is mainly transmitted by populations of the sibling species Lutzomyia longipalpis that has been spreading in countries including Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and more recently Uruguay. Although bionomic parameters such as population survival and the duration of the gonotrophic cycle are critical in evaluating vector capacity, field studies have rarely been applied to sand fly populations. The present study sought to evaluate basic bionomic parameters related to the vectorial capacity of the (S)-9-methylgermacrene-B population of the Lu. longipalpis complex in a visceral leishmaniasis area of Sao Paulo state. The daily survival rate, the duration of the gonotrophic cycle and the dispersal pattern were evaluated through the mark- release-recapture method. A total of 1,547 males and 401 females were marked and released in five experiments carried out between February 2013 and February 2014. The higher recapture rates occurred within 100 meters of the release point and the estimated daily survival rates varied between 0.69 and 0.89 for females and between 0.69 and 0.79 for males. The minimum duration of the gonotrophic cycle observed was five days. The absolute population size, calculated ranged from 900 to 4,857 females and from 2,882 to 9,543 males. Our results demonstrate a high survival rate of this vector population and low dispersal that could be associated with the presence of all necessary conditions for its establishment and maintenance in the peridomiciles of this area. Our findings contribute to the basic data necessary for the understanding of ZVL dynamics and the evaluation of the implementation of prevention and control measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fredy Galvis-Ovallos
- Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil
| | - Claudio Casanova
- Laboratório de Parasitoses por flagelados, Superintendência de Controle de Endemias, Secretaria de Estado da Saúde, Mogi Guaçu, São Paulo, Brasil
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50
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de Carvalho FLN, Riboldi EDO, Bello GL, Ramos RR, Barcellos RB, Gehlen M, Halon ML, Romão PRT, Dallegrave E, Rossetti MLR. Canine visceral leishmaniasis diagnosis: a comparative performance of serological and molecular tests in symptomatic and asymptomatic dogs. Epidemiol Infect 2018; 146:571-576. [PMID: 29477155 PMCID: PMC9134517 DOI: 10.1017/s0950268818000225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2017] [Revised: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Although serological assays have been widely used for the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL), they present different performances depending on the clinical profile of the dogs. This study evaluated the accuracy of serological tests, immunochromatographic (Dual Path Platform: DPP®) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA EIE®), for CVL in relation to the detection of Leishmania DNA through real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) in samples from symptomatic and asymptomatic dogs from a non-endemic area in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil. Serum from 140 dogs (39 symptomatic and 101 asymptomatic) was tested by DPP and ELISA followed by real-time PCR. From a total of 140 samples evaluated, Leishmania DNA was detected by real-time PCR in 41.4% (58/140). Moreover, 67.2% of samples positive in real-time PCR were positive in both DPP and ELISA (39/58), showing moderate agreement between methods. In the symptomatic group, one sample non-reactive in both serological assays was positive in real-time PCR, whereas in the asymptomatic group, 17.8% non-reactive or undetermined samples in serological assays were positive in the molecular method. Leishmania DNA was not detected in 17.9% reactive samples by serological assays from the symptomatic group, and in 3.9% from asymptomatic dogs. Real-time PCR demonstrated greater homogeneity between symptomatic and asymptomatic groups compared with DPP and ELISA. The molecular method can help to establish the correct CVL diagnosis, particularly in asymptomatic dogs, avoiding undesirable euthanasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flávio Luiz Nunes de Carvalho
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Molecular e Celular Aplicada à Saúde, Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA), Canoas, RS, Brazil
| | - Emeline de Oliveira Riboldi
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Patologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90050-170, Brazil
| | - Graziele Lima Bello
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Molecular e Celular Aplicada à Saúde, Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA), Canoas, RS, Brazil
| | - Raquel Rocha Ramos
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Laboratório Central do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (LACEN), Secretaria da Saúde do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (SES/RS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Regina Bones Barcellos
- Centro de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CDCT), Secretaria da Saúde do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (SES/RS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Mirela Gehlen
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Molecular e Celular Aplicada à Saúde, Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA), Canoas, RS, Brazil
| | - Maria Laura Halon
- Centro de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CDCT), Secretaria da Saúde do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (SES/RS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Pedro Roosevelt Torres Romão
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90050-170, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biociências, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90050-170, Brazil
| | - Eliane Dallegrave
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Patologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90050-170, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90050-170, Brazil
| | - Maria Lucia Rosa Rossetti
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Molecular e Celular Aplicada à Saúde, Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA), Canoas, RS, Brazil
- Centro de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CDCT), Secretaria da Saúde do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (SES/RS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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