Abstract
Leishmaniases are a group of important diseases transmitted to humans through the bite of sandfly vectors. Several forms of leishmaniases are endemic in Mexico and especially in the Southeast region. In the Northeastern region, however, there have only been isolated reports of cases and scanty records of sandfly vectors. The main objective of this study was to analyze the diversity of sandflies and potential reservoir hosts of Leishmania spp. in the states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. Species richness and abundances of sandflies and rodents were recorded. A fraction of the caught sandflies was analyzed by PCR to detect Leishmania spp. Tissues from captured rodents were also screened for infection. Ecological Niche Models (ENMs) were computed for species of rodent and their association with crop-growing areas. We found 13 species of sandflies, several of which are first records for this region. Medically important species such as Lutzomyia anthophora, Lutzomyia diabolica, Lutzomyia cruciata, and Lutzomyia shannoni were documented. Leishmania spp. infection was not detected in sandflies. Nine species of rodents were recorded, and Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana infection was found in four species of Peromyscus and Sigmodon. ENMs showed that potential distribution of rodent pest species overlaps with allocated crop areas. This shows that Leishmania (L.) mexicana infection is present in the Northeastern region of Mexico, and that previously unrecorded sandfly species occur in the same areas. These findings suggest a potential risk of transmission of Leishmania (L.) mexicana.
Highlights
Human leishmaniases represent a health problem in many countries worldwide
A recent publication by González-Rosas et al [26] revealed using Ecological Niche Modeling that the distribution of leishmaniasis in Mexico does not correlate well with the distribution area of the proven sandfly vector Lu. olmeca olmeca. These findings clearly suggest that other sandfly vectors – and possibly other reservoir hosts – are implicated in the transmission cycle in other foci of leishmaniasis
The results we present here are part of a larger network of multi-disciplinary and inter-institutional collaborations in Mexico concerned with zoonoses and, in particular, leishmaniasis
Summary
Human leishmaniases represent a health problem in many countries worldwide. It is estimated that the diseases are prevalent in at least 98 countries, with 1.5–2.0 million persons infected and over 350 million persons living at risk [1]. Most of the field studies concerning LCL in Mexico were conducted in the Yucatan Peninsula. These studies include entomological aspects [67,68,69,70], reservoir hosts [5, 83, 84], and clinical approaches [2, 30, 85]
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