Abstract
In 2008 and 2009, an outbreak of desert-subtype zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis occurred in Jiashi county, Xinjiang, China. So far, no animal reservoir has been identified for this type of visceral leishmaniasis. Therefore, we surveyed the most common mammals (wild and domestic) for Leishmania infections during the outbreak in 2008 and 2009 in order to identify the source of the visceral leishmaniasis in this region. Spleen, liver, bone marrow and blood samples collected from 86 wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), 61midday jirds (Meriones meridianus) and 27 Yarkand hares (Lepus yarkandensis) were tested for the presence of Leishmania by microscopy, culture and PCR. All of the animals were found to be negative for Leishmania infections; On the other hand, Leishmania DNA was detected in blood samples collected from livestock reared in the outbreak area: 30.36% (17/56) of sheep, 21.57% (11/51) of goats, 17.78% (8/45) of cattle, and 21.62 (8/37) of donkeys were positive for Leishmania DNA by PCR. The amplified kDNA sequences from the livestock samples matched Leishmania DNA sequences isolated from patients with visceral leishmaniasis in the study area. We suggest that these domestic mammals are a possible reservoir host for Leishmania infantum in the outbreak area.
Highlights
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a severe vector-borne disease caused by parasites of the Leishmania donovani complex belonging to Trypanosomatidae family, Kinetoplastida order [1,2,3]
Leishmania infection in captured wild animals in the study area All of the 86 rodents captured in and around the village were identified as wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), while all 61 rodents captured in farmland and scrubland afar from the village were all identified as midday jirds (Meriones meridianus)
Blood samples from domestic animals including sheep, goats, cattle and donkeys were tested for Leishmania DNA by standard PCR
Summary
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a severe vector-borne disease caused by parasites of the Leishmania donovani complex (including Leishmania donovani and L. infantum) belonging to Trypanosomatidae family, Kinetoplastida order [1,2,3]. In China, about 530,000 VL cases occurred. Mammals for Infection with Leishmania infantum in Jiashi, China in 17 provincial-level administrative areas in 1951 [4]. The disease is still endemic in 61 counties in six provincial-level administrative areas in western China. The number of VL cases has increased in these endemic regions over the past years [5]. An outbreak of VL occurred in Jiashi county, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region between 2008 and 2009. In this outbreak, the incidence rate (258 cases in 2008 and 207 cases in 2009) was over 20-fold higher compared to the average annual incidence (9.67 cases for the period 1996–2007). The majority of the cases (96.6%) were in children under the age of two [5,6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
