6533b7d9fe1ef96bd126c2ec
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Leishmania tarentolae and Leishmania infantum in humans, dogs and cats in the Pelagie archipelago, southern Italy.
Antonio CascioEmanuele BriantiMaria Stefania LatrofaRoberta IattaSimona GabrielliJairo Alfonso Mendoza-roldanMarco PombiDomenico OtrantoDomenico Otrantosubject
dogsreal-time polymerase chain reactionRC955-962Pathology and Laboratory MedicineSerologyMedical ConditionswesternZoonosesArctic medicine. Tropical medicineitalymiddle agedMedicine and Health Sciences80 and overadult; aged; aged 80 and over; animals; blotting western; cat diseases; cats; dog diseases; dogs; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; female; humans; italy; leishmaniasis visceral; male; middle aged; prevalence; public health; real-time polymerase chain reaction; serologic tests; sicily; surveys and questionnaires; young adult; leishmania infantumEnzyme-Linked ImmunoassayshumansAged 80 and overProtozoansLeishmaniaMammalsCATSmedicine.diagnostic_testbiologyadultpublic healthEukaryotablottingvisceralanimalsagedInfectious DiseasesSerologyfemaleVertebratesleishmania infantumLeishmaniasis Visceralyoung adultLeishmania infantumAntibodyDog DiseasePublic aspects of medicineRA1-1270dog diseasesHumanResearch ArticleNeglected Tropical DiseasesBlotting Westernprevalenceserologic testsImmunofluorescenceResearch and Analysis MethodsmaleSurveys and Questionnaires ...parasitic diseasesmedicineParasitic DiseasessicilyImmunoassaysleishmaniasisProtozoan InfectionsAnimalcatsPublic Health Environmental and Occupational HealthOrganismsBiology and Life SciencesLeishmaniasiscat diseasesbiology.organism_classificationmedicine.diseaseLeishmaniaCat DiseaseTropical DiseasesVirologyParasitic ProtozoansVisceral leishmaniasisAmniotessurveys and questionnairesbiology.proteinImmunologic Techniquesenzyme-linked immunosorbent assayZoologydescription
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania infantum is endemic in the Mediterranean basin with most of the infected human patients remaining asymptomatic. Recently, the saurian-associated Leishmania tarentolae was detected in human blood donors and in sheltered dogs. The circulation of L. infantum and L. tarentolae was investigated in humans, dogs and cats living in the Pelagie islands (Sicily, Italy) by multiple serological and molecular testing. Human serum samples (n = 346) were tested to assess the exposure to L. infantum by immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot (WB) and to L. tarentolae by IFAT. Meanwhile, sera from dogs (n = 149) and cats (n = 32) were tested for both Leishmania species by IFAT and all blood samples, including those of humans, by specific sets of real time-PCR for L. infantum and L. tarentolae. The agreement between serological tests performed for human samples, and between serological and molecular diagnostic techniques for both human and animal samples were also assessed. Overall, 41 human samples (11.8%, 95% CI: 8.9–15.7) were positive to L. infantum (5.2%, 95% CI: 3.3–8.1), L. tarentolae (5.2%, 95% CI: 3.3–8.1) and to both species (1.4%, 95% CI: 0.6–3.3) by serology and/or molecular tests. A good agreement among the serological tests was determined. Both Leishmania spp. were serologically and/or molecularly detected in 39.6% dogs and 43.7% cats. In addition to L. infantum, also L. tarentolae circulates in human and animal populations, raising relevant public health implications. Further studies should investigate the potential beneficial effects of L. tarentolae in the protection against L. infantum infection.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-23 | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |