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

• Published in: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2011-10, Vol.105 (10), p.579-585
• Main Authors: Quaresma, Patrícia F., Rêgo, Felipe D., Botelho, Helbert A., da Silva, Shara R., Moura, Airton J., Neto, Rafael G. Teixeira, Madeira, Filipe M., Carvalho, Maria Beatriz, Paglia, Adriano P., Melo, Maria Norma, Gontijo, Célia M.F. Ferreira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Bone Marrow - parasitology; Brazil; Brazil - epidemiology; Disease Reservoirs; Dog Diseases - genetics; Dog Diseases - parasitology; Dog Diseases - transmission; Dogs; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; General aspects; Host reservoirs; Human protozoal diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Leishmania; Leishmania - pathogenicity; Leishmania braziliensis - pathogenicity; Leishmania guyanensis - pathogenicity; Leishmania infantum; Leishmania infantum - pathogenicity; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - epidemiology; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - genetics; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - transmission; Leshmaniasis; Marsupialia - parasitology; Medical sciences; Mixed infection; Parasitic diseases; PCR; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Protozoal diseases; Rodentia - parasitology
• ISSN: 0035-9203; 1878-3503
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2011.07.005

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