Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis is a parasitic zoonosis that mainly affects poorest and most vulnerable populations, and domestic dogs are considered to be the main source of infection to the vector and therefore humans. However, several studies have investigated the role of other vertebrate hosts in the disease cycle. In this context, the aim of the present study was to conduct a survey of Leishmania infantum infection in donkeys and mules living in a semiarid region of Brazil. Whole blood sampled from 72 equids (65 donkeys and 7 mules) was used to perform molecular diagnosis using the real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technique. A total of 25% of the samples (18/72) were positive through qPCR, but there were no significant differences between the species (donkeys or mules), sex (male or female) and abandonment situation of the animals (yes or no). Donkeys and mules living under semiarid conditions have high frequency of L. infantum infection. It is therefore worth assigning importance to these species in the epidemiological cycle of visceral leishmaniasis, either as potential reservoirs or just as an abundant food source for vectors.
Highlights
Leishmaniases are parasitic zoonosis caused by several species of the genus Leishmania, endemic in many regions of the world, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries
Out of the total number of samples analyzed, 25% (18/72) presented genetic material of L. infantum in peripheral blood according to the qualitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technique
In analyses on the data according to categories, 23.08% (15/65) of the donkeys and 42.86% (3/7) of the mules were positive; regarding sex, 22.62% (12/53) of the males and 31.58% (6/19) of the females were positive; and regarding the abandonment situation, 35.29% (6/17) of the animals in this condition and 21.82% (12/55) of those who were not in this condition tested positive in qPCR, but without any statistical differences between the categories (Table 1)
Summary
Leishmaniases are parasitic zoonosis caused by several species of the genus Leishmania, endemic in many regions of the world, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries They are considered be a neglected disease that affects the poorest and most vulnerable populations that do not have adequate access to healthcare services (WHO, 2017). Several studies have demonstrated the possibility that other vertebrate hosts might harbor parasites and participate in the disease cycle (Quaresma et al, 2011; Gao et al, 2015; Kenubih et al, 2015; Rohousova et al, 2015) In this regard, Limeira et al (2019) conducted a systematic analysis on several studies that indicated the presence of different Leishmania species, such as L. braziliensis, L. infantum and L. siamensis parasitizing donkeys, horses and mules. The clinical manifestations described so far have comprised a benign cutaneous form of the disease, with lesions observed at the inoculation site, of self-limiting nature (Limeira et al, 2019)
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