Leishmania spp. in equids and their potential vectors in endemic areas of canine leishmaniasis.

Autor: Carbonara M; Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy., Mendoza-Roldan JA; Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy., Bezerra-Santos MA; Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy., de Abreu Teles PP; Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy., Lia RP; Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy., Locantore F; Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy., Iatta R; Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy., Volf P; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic., Otranto D; Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy.; Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR China.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PLoS neglected tropical diseases [PLoS Negl Trop Dis] 2024 Jul 18; Vol. 18 (7), pp. e0012290. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 18 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012290
Abstrakt: Equids may be infected by zoonotic Leishmania spp., including Leishmania infantum, in regions where canine leishmaniasis (CanL) is endemic, and Leishmania martiniquensis, which has been reported in horses from Central Europe. This study was designed to evaluate the occurrence of both Leishmania spp. among equids living in CanL endemic areas of Italy, as well as to identify dipteran vectors from the same habitats. From March to October 2023, blood, serum and tissue samples from skin lesions were collected from equids (n = 98; n = 56 donkeys and n = 42 horses) living in Italy, as well as sand flies and biting midges. Blood samples (n = 98) and skin lesions (n = 56) were tested for Leishmania spp. by conventional and real time PCRs and sera were tested by immunofluorescence antibody tests (IFAT) for both L. infantum and L. martiniquensis. Insects were morphologically identified, and female specimens (n = 268 sand flies, n = 7 biting midges) analyzed for Leishmania DNA, as well as engorged sand flies (n = 16) for blood-meal detection. Two animals with skin lesions (i.e., one donkey and one horse) scored positive for Leishmania spp. DNA, and 19 animals (i.e., 19.4%; n = 13 donkeys and n = 6 horses) were seropositive for L. infantum, with five of them also for L. martiniquensis. Most seropositive animals had no dermatological lesions (i.e., 68.4%) while both animals molecularly positive for Leishmania spp. scored seronegative. Of the 356 sand flies collected, 12 females (i.e., n = 8 Sergentomyia minuta; n = 3 Phlebotomus perniciosus, n = 1 Phlebotomus perfiliewi) were positive for Leishmania spp. DNA, and one out of seven biting midges collected was DNA-positive for L. infantum. Moreover, engorged sand flies scored positive for human and equine DNA. Data suggest that equids living in CanL endemic areas are exposed to Leishmania spp., but their role in the circulation of the parasite needs further investigations.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 Carbonara et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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