Xenodiagnosis in four domestic cats naturally infected by Leishmania infantum

Author(s):Show less -

Vioti, Geovanna ^[1] ; da Silva, Mariana Dantas ^[2] ; Galvis-Ovallos, Fredy ^[2] ; Alves, Maria Luana ^[1] ; da Silva, Diogo Tiago ^[1] ; Franco Leonel, Joao Augusto ^[1] ; Balbini Pereira, Nuno Wolfgang ^[1] ; Benassi, Julia Cristina ^[3] ; Pereira Spada, Julio Cesar ^[1] ; Maia, Carla ^[4] ; Bianchi Galati, Eunice Aparecida ^[2] ; Starke-Buzetti, Wilma Aparecida ^[5] ; Ferreira de Sousa Oliveira, Tricia Maria ^{[3, 1]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Postgrad Program Expt Epidemiol Appl Zoonoses, Fac Vet Med & Anim Sci, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Publ Hlth, Dept Epidemiol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Anim Sci & Food Engn, Dept Vet Med, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Biol & Anim Sci, Ilha Solteira - Brazil

^[5] Univ NOVA Lisboa NOVA, Inst Higiene & Med Trop IHMT, Global Hlth & Trop Med GHTM, Lisbon - Portugal

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES; JUL 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease that continues to pose a serious public health problem. Albeit dogs have long been held as the major reservoirs of Leishmania infantum, the involvement of domestic cats in the zoonotic cycle of visceral leishmaniasis has gained prominence. Here, 240 cats were evaluated by clinical signs and haematological/biochemical changes compatible with leishmaniasis and were diagnosed by serological, molecular, and parasitological techniques. Thus, four cats naturally infected by L. infantum were submitted to xenodiagnosis. A total of 203 females of Lutzomyia longipalpis were subjected to feeding on four cats, with all females completing the blood meal. Parasitological and molecular assays were carried out to evaluate the presence of L. infantum in the sand flies' midgut. Promastigotes were observed in 10 females (6.5%) that fed on one cat, and L. infantum DNA was detected in 17 (8.4%) females that fed on two cats. Our results strengthen the evidence that naturally infected cats are capable of transmitting L. infantum to sand flies. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/08018-4 - Humoral and cellular immune response of cats and horses infected by Leishmania spp.
• Grantee: Trícia Maria Ferreira de Sousa Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 19/24368-3 - Xenodiagnosis in domestic cats (Felis catus naturally infected by) Leishmania infantum
• Grantee: Trícia Maria Ferreira de Sousa Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants