TY - JOUR
T1 - Xenodiagnosis in four domestic cats naturally infected by Leishmania infantum
AU - Vioti, Geovanna
AU - da Silva, Mariana Dantas
AU - Galvis-Ovallos, Fredy
AU - Alves, Maria Luana
AU - da Silva, Diogo Tiago
AU - Leonel, João Augusto Franco
AU - Pereira, Nuno Wolfgang Balbini
AU - Benassi, Julia Cristina
AU - Spada, Júlio Cesar Pereira
AU - Maia, Carla
AU - Galati, Eunice Aparecida Bianchi
AU - Starke-Buzetti, Wilma Aparecida
AU - Ferreira de Sousa Oliveira, Trícia Maria
N1 - This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/7/6
Y1 - 2021/7/6
N2 - 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 which fed on two cats. Our results strengthen the evidence that naturally infected cats are capable of transmitting L. infantum to sand flies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
AB - 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 which fed on two cats. Our results strengthen the evidence that naturally infected cats are capable of transmitting L. infantum to sand flies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
KW - Feline leishmaniasis, Leishmania infantum, Lutzomyia longipalpis, visceral leishmaniasis
U2 - 10.1111/tbed.14216
DO - 10.1111/tbed.14216
M3 - Article
C2 - 34229362
SN - 1865-1674
JO - Transboundary and Emerging Diseases
JF - Transboundary and Emerging Diseases
ER -
