Abstract
Leishmaniases are parasitic diseases transmitted to mammalian hosts by sand fly vectors (Diptera: Psychodidae). Despite the increasing occurrence of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis cases in urban centers, their transmission still occur primarily in wild environments and may be associated with professional activities and recreation, such as ecotourism. The Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Santuário do Caraça (RPPNSC) is one of the largest ecotourism attractions in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and comprises an area of environmental preservation with 11,233 hectares presenting a transitional vegetation between Cerrado and Atlantic Forest. The present study describes the abundance of small mammals in RPPNSC, the isolation and identification of Leishmania in five wild animals. Small mammals were bimonthly trapped along 6 trails within the RPPNSC with 10 Tomahawk traps each. Two trails were located in peridomiciliary areas near tourist lodging facilities, and four trails were located at sites visited by tourists in forest areas. The most prevalent species were Akodon cursor, Cerradomys subflavus and Oligoryzomys nigripes. Six isolates of Leishmania were obtained from these animals and identified as Leishmania braziliensis through HSP70-PCR RFLP method. Leishmania spp. DNA was detected by kDNA-PCR method and isolated by biphasic culture. Studies point to some of the captured species as potential wild reservoirs of Leishmania, suggesting they may be involved in the transmission cycle in these wild environments.
Highlights
Leishmaniasis is a complex of diseases caused by an intracellular protozoon, on vertebrate hosts, of the genus Leishmania
We propose to investigate the Leishmania infection in small mammals caught in a natural protected area in southeastern Brazil which is surrounded by urban centers and constantly visited by tourists
Isolation of L. braziliensis from rodents has been described in different regions, for review see Roque & Jansen [24], but to the best of our knowledge, there are no prior reports of L. braziliensis isolated from Akodon cursor, Cerradomys subflavus and Oxymycterus dasytrichus in the southeastern region of Brazil
Summary
Leishmaniasis is a complex of diseases caused by an intracellular protozoon, on vertebrate hosts, of the genus Leishmania. There are four generally accepted classifications of clinical leishmaniasis: cutaneous, diffuse cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. Leishmania infection is acquired through the bite of female sand flies of the genera Phlebotomus. Leishmania braziliensis in wild small mammals in Brazil. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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