First detection of Leishmania DNA in Psammomys obesus and Psammomys vexillaris: Their potential involvement in the epidemiology of leishmaniasis in Tunisia
Autor: | Cristina Riera, M. Magdalena Alcover, Beatriz Cancino-Faure, Melek Chaouch, Riadh Ben Ismail, Roser Fisa, Chiraz Ayari, Wissem Ghawar, Míriam Tomás-Pérez, Jomaa Chemkhi, Souha Ben Abderrazak, Afif Ben Salah, Souad Ben Othman |
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Rok vydání: | 2017 |
Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Microbiology (medical) Tunisia 030231 tropical medicine Microbiology 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Cutaneous leishmaniasis parasitic diseases Genetics medicine Animals Psammomys vexillaris Internal transcribed spacer Molecular Biology Leishmaniasis Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Disease Reservoirs Leishmania Molecular Epidemiology biology 030108 mycology & parasitology DNA Protozoan biology.organism_classification medicine.disease Infectious Diseases Visceral leishmaniasis Liver Kinetoplast Psammomys Gerbillinae |
Zdroj: | Infection, genetics and evolution : journal of molecular epidemiology and evolutionary genetics in infectious diseases. 59 |
ISSN: | 1567-7257 |
Popis: | Leishmaniasis, a public health problem in Tunisia, are diseases caused by different Leishmania species. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is present from the North to the South under different forms, due to Leishmania (L.) major, L. infantum or L. tropica. Whereas, Psammomys (P.) obesus is the confirmed reservoir host of L. major, those of L. tropica and dermotropic L. infantum wait to be identified. Importantly, P. vexillaris species have been recently highlighted; however, no studies have been carried out to explore its potential role in leishmaniasis epidemiology. Seventy two rodents were collected from Central and South-West of Tunisia between 2007 and 2010. Using several methods, 43 animals were identified as P. obesus and 29 as P. vexillaris. Leishmania kinetoplast DNA was detected in liver samples by real-time PCR in 18 P. obesus and in 8 P. vexillaris. Then, the direct sequencing of the amplified internal transcribed spacer 1, allowed the identification of L. infantum DNA in five P. obesus and in three P. vexillaris, as well as L. tropica DNA in three other P. vexillaris. Whereas, PCR fluorescent fragment length analysis of the 7 spliced leaders, allowed identifying L. major among infected P. obesus and P. vexillaris, and interestingly co-infection (L. major/L. infantum) among two P. obesus. We report here for the first time, the infection of P. obesus, from Central Tunisia, by L. infantum. Suggesting that P. obesus the known reservoir host of L. major, may also serve as reservoir host for L. infantum and thus play a role in the spread of sporadic cutaneous or visceral leishmaniasis in this region. Of equal importance, this work establish for the first time, the natural infection of P. vexillaris by different Leishmania species, suggesting its potential epidemiological role as reservoir host. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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