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Home / Publications / Xenodiagnosis in four domestic cats naturally infected by Leishmania infantum

Xenodiagnosis in four domestic cats naturally infected by Leishmania infantum

  • Authors: Geovanna Vioti, Mariana Dantas da Silva, Fredy Galvis-Ovallos, Maria Luana Alves, Diogo Tiago da Silva, João Augusto Franco Leonel, Nuno Wolfgang Balbini Pereira, Julia Cristina Benassi, Júlio Cesar Pereira Spada, Carla Maia, Eunice Aparecida Bianchi Galati, Wilma Aparecida Starke-Buzetti, Trícia Maria Ferreira de Sousa Oliveira
  • Publication Year: 2021
  • Journal: Transboundary and Emerging Diseases
  • Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.14216

ABSTRACT

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 that fed on two cats. Our results strengthen the evidence that naturally infected cats are capable of transmitting L. infantum to sand flies.

KEYWORDS

Feline leishmaniasis; Leishmania infantum; Lutzomyia longipalpis; visceral leishmaniasis.

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About GHTM

GHTM is a R&D Unit that brings together researchers with a track record in Tropical Medicine and International & Global Health. It aims at strengthening Portugal's role as a leading partner in the development and implementation of a global health research agenda. Our evidence-based interventions contribute to the promotion of equity in health and to improve the health of populations.

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