Study of an outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Venezuela. The role of domestic animals.
Abstract: During an outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis in a locality (Las Rosas, Cojedes State, Venezuela) previously non-endemic, 12.9% of humans, 7% of dogs and 21.4% of donkeys (Equus asinus) had lesions with parasites. The agent in the three hosts was identified as Leishmania braziliensis, subspecies braziliensis at least in man and donkey. The probable vector was Lutzomyia panamensis. No infection was found in a small sample of wild mammals examined. The outbreak was apparently linked with the importation of donkeys with ulcers, from endemic areas. The authors call attention to the fact that not only in the foci of "uta", but also in areas of the other forms of American cutaneous leishmaniasis, dogs are frequently found infected. They emphasize the necessity of searching for the infection in donkeys and of performing hemocultures and xenodiagnosis with sandflies in human, canine and equine cases, to verify their possible role as sources of infection, and not merely as dead ends in the epidemiological chain of the disease.
Publication Date: 1984-04-01 PubMed ID: 6535915DOI: 10.1590/s0074-02761984000200005Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research discusses a cutaneous leishmaniasis outbreak in Las Rosas, Venezuela, where humans, dogs, and donkeys were infected by the parasite Leishmania braziliensis. It also explores the connection between the disease spread and the import of infected donkeys from endemic regions.
Outbreak Overview
- The research is based on an outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis in an area of Venezuela (Las Rosas, Cojedes State) which was not previously known for the disease.
- 12.9% of humans, 7% of dogs, and 21.4% of donkeys were found with parasite-induced lesions.
- The infectious agent in all three hosts was identified as Leishmania braziliensis, with specific confirmation of the subspecies braziliensis in humans and donkeys.
Vector Identification
- The probable vector transmitting the disease was Lutzomyia panamensis.
- No infection traced to this disease was found in a small sample of wild mammals that were examined as part of the study.
Possible Cause of the Outbreak
- The researchers link the outbreak with the importation of donkeys having ulcers from areas already endemic with the disease.
- They caution about areas not just restricted to “uta” foci but also places with other forms of American cutaneous leishmaniasis, where dogs have often been found infected.
Recommendations
- The authors urge the necessity of testing for infection in donkeys.
- They also recommend utilizing hemocultures and xenodiagnosis involving sandflies in cases relating to humans, canines, and equines.
- This is stressed to assert their potential roles as sources of infection, beyond being terminuses in the epidemiological progression of the disease.
Cite This Article
APA
Aguilar CM, Fernández E, de Fernández R, Deane LM.
(1984).
Study of an outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Venezuela. The role of domestic animals.
Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, 79(2), 181-195.
https://doi.org/10.1590/s0074-02761984000200005 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Animals
- Child
- Child, Preschool
- Disease Outbreaks / epidemiology
- Disease Reservoirs
- Dog Diseases / parasitology
- Dogs
- Female
- Humans
- Insect Vectors
- Intradermal Tests
- Leishmaniasis / epidemiology
- Leishmaniasis / transmission
- Leishmaniasis / veterinary
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Perissodactyla / parasitology
- Psychodidae
- Skin Ulcer / parasitology
- Venezuela
Citations
This article has been cited 11 times.- Gazzonis AL, Morganti G, Porcellato I, Roccabianca P, Avallone G, Gavaudan S, Canonico C, Rigamonti G, Brachelente C, Veronesi F. Detection of Leishmania spp. in Chronic Dermatitis: Retrospective Study in Exposed Horse Populations.. Pathogens 2022 May 31;11(6).
- Ortega-García MV, Salguero FJ, García N, Domínguez M, Moreno I, Berrocal A. Equine infection with Leishmania spp. in Costa Rica: Study of five cases.. Vet Med Sci 2021 Nov;7(6):2234-2239.
- Costa SCL, de Souza Freitas J, Carvalho FS, Pereira MJS, Cordeiro MD, da Fonseca AH, Gomes Jusi MM, Machado RZ, Munhoz AD. Frequency and factors associated of potential zoonotic pathogens (Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp., Leishmania spp., and Anaplasma phagocytophilum) in equids in the state of Bahia, Brazil.. Parasit Vectors 2021 May 22;14(1):275.
- Sandoval-Ramírez CM, Hernández C, Teherán AA, Gutierrez-Marin R, Martínez-Vega RA, Morales D, Hoyos-Lopez R, Araque-Mogollón A, Ramírez JD. Complex ecological interactions across a focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Eastern Colombia: novel description of Leishmania species, hosts and phlebotomine fauna.. R Soc Open Sci 2020 Jul;7(7):200266.
- Pareyn M, Kochora A, Van Rooy L, Eligo N, Vanden Broecke B, Girma N, Merdekios B, Wegayehu T, Maes L, Caljon G, Lindtjørn B, Leirs H, Massebo F. Feeding behavior and activity of Phlebotomus pedifer and potential reservoir hosts of Leishmania aethiopica in southwestern Ethiopia.. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020 Mar;14(3):e0007947.
- Maggi RG, Krämer F. A review on the occurrence of companion vector-borne diseases in pet animals in Latin America.. Parasit Vectors 2019 Mar 28;12(1):145.
- Guimarães-E-Silva AS, Silva SO, Ribeiro da Silva RC, Pinheiro VCS, Rebêlo JMM, Melo MN. Leishmania infection and blood food sources of phlebotomines in an area of Brazil endemic for visceral and tegumentary leishmaniasis.. PLoS One 2017;12(8):e0179052.
- Rêgo FD, Rugani JM, Shimabukuro PH, Tonelli GB, Quaresma PF, Gontijo CM. Molecular detection of Leishmania in phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) from a cutaneous leishmaniasis focus atXakriabá Indigenous Reserve, Brazil.. PLoS One 2015;10(4):e0122038.
- Truppel JH, Otomura F, Teodoro U, Massafera R, da Costa-Ribeiro MC, Catarino CM, Dalagrana L, Costa Ferreira ME, Thomaz-Soccol V. Can equids be a reservoir of Leishmania braziliensis in endemic areas?. PLoS One 2014;9(4):e93731.
- Vieira VP, Ferreira AL, Biral dos Santos C, Leite GR, Ferreira GE, Falqueto A. Peridomiciliary breeding sites of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in an endemic area of American cutaneous leishmaniasis in southeastern Brazil.. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2012 Dec;87(6):1089-93.
- Chaves LF, Cohen JM, Pascual M, Wilson ML. Social exclusion modifies climate and deforestation impacts on a vector-borne disease.. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2008 Feb 6;2(1):e176.
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