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Human visceral leishmaniasis is a major public health problem in the Amazon. Thus, we analyzed the spatial distribution of this disease and its relationship with epidemiological, socioeconomic, and environmental variables in the Carajas Integration Region, Para state, from 2011 to 2020. Epidemiological data for this ecological study were obtained from the State Public Health Secretariat, environmental data were obtained from the National Space Research Institute, and socioeconomic data were obtained from the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute. ArcGIS 10.5.1 software was used for classifying land use and cover and for the Kernel and Moran spatial analyses. It was observed in 685 confirmed cases that the epidemiological profile followed the national pattern of the disease occurrence, with a high prevalence in children who were not school-aged. The disease had a non-homogeneous distribution with clusters related to different human activities, such as urbanization, ranching, and mining. A spatial dependence between the disease prevalence and socioeconomic indicators was observed. The municipalities presented gradients of case densities associated with a direct relationship between areas with cases and deforestation. The disease is developing due to risk factors such as establishment and maintenance related to the non-sustainable development model implemented in the region, pointing to the need for its revision.

Human Visceral Leishmaniasis is an endemic public health problem in the Amazon. This article analyzed the spatial distribution of this disease and its relationship with socioeconomic, environmental and public health policy variables in four mesoregions of the state of Para, from 2011 to 2022. This ecological study used secondary data obtained from official Brazilian agencies. Spatial analysis was performed using the Flow, Kernel and Global Moran bivariate techniques expressed in thematic maps. In the mesoregions studied, 2685 cases of the disease were confirmed, with the highest number of cases in Southeast Para state. The epidemiological profile followed the national pattern of occurrence of the disease, with a higher number of cases in children below school age. Spatial dependence was observed between the prevalence of the disease and socio-economic indicators. The most intense movement of patients was towards the Belem Metropolitan mesoregion. The disease showed an inhomogeneous pattern of distribution of cases, with a direct relationship between areas with cases and deforestation associated with different anthropic activities. There is a socio-environmental production of the disease that goes beyond the border limits of the mesoregions, and its establishment is related to the unsustainable development model implemented in the region.

Effective conservation management depends on the maintenance of key areas that allow population connectivity across the landscape. However, the lack of knowledge of how habitat conversion affects species movement hinders the identification of these areas. Here, we analyzed the impact of habitat fragmentation on landscape connectivity for Leopardus guttulus, a small Neotropical felid threatened by the high habitat fragmentation across the Atlantic Forest, and mapped and ranked the most important core areas and corridors for conservation actions. We also estimated genetic diversity indices and predicted the viability of the current core areas in the future. Our analyses suggest that L. guttulus populations are fragmented, and connectivity links between populations are few and weak. We predict that due to their size, estimated density and low connectivity, some current core areas may not maintain viable populations in the long-term. Also, ongoing land-use changes may further isolate remaining populations, leading to progressive reductions in the populations they support. In this study, we spatially prioritize the most critical areas for L. guttulus conservation and highlighted the urge that exists in the adoption of management measures for its conservation.

We describe a new species of the cricetid rodent Oxymycterus (Sigmodontinae), which inhabits a transitional area between the southern Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest in south-southeastern Brazil. Compared to other Oxymycterus, the new species is large-sized with a tawny-brown pelage coloration. The new species could be differentiated from other Oxymycterus species by a combination of cranial characteristics that includes markedly large and inflated auditory bulla; a narrow rostrum and large incisive foramen, with the posterior extremity reaching the posterior region of the M1 protocone or hypoflexus; a wide parapterygoid fossa; the presence of a foramen ovale in the posterior region of the parapterygoid plate; and a thin hamular process of the squamosal. Bayesian analysis based on the mitochondrial and nuclear genes (cytochrome-b and acid phosphatase type V—Intron 2, respectively) recovered from the Oxymycterus sp. nov. showed it to be phylogenetically closely related to O. amazonicus and O. delator, all three species associated with open vegetation. The lineage leading to this clade likely emerged around 1.14 million years ago during the Early-Middle Pleistocene. Genetic distances between the new taxa and these two species calculated from comparison of cytochrome-b sequences are 3.7% and 4.1%, respectively. Currently, Oxymycterus sp. nov. is known from only two unprotected sites, with the type locality inserted in an area under the process of conurbation. Our study raises the number of living species in the genus to 16.

Background The role of bats as reservoirs of zoonotic agents, especially pathogenic bacteria such as Bartonella and Coxiella, has been discussed around the world. Recent studies have identified bats as potential hosts of species from the proteobacteria phylum. In Brazil, however, the role of bats in the natural cycle of these agents is poorly investigated and generally neglected. In order to analyze the participation of bats in the epidemiology of diseases caused by Bartonella , Coxiella , Rickettsia , Anaplasma and Ehrlichia , we conducted a descriptive epidemiological study in three biogeographic regions of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Results Tissues of 119 bats captured in preserved areas in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and Santa Catarina from 2014 to 2015 were submitted to molecular analysis using specific primers. Bartonella spp. was detected in 22 spleen samples (18.5%, 95% CI: 11.9–26.6), whose phylogenetic analysis revealed the generation of at least two independent clusters, suggesting that these may be new unique genotypes of Bartonella species. In addition, four samples (3.4%, 95% CI: 0.9–8.3) were positive for the htpAB gene of C. burnetii [spleen (2), liver (1) and heart (1)]. Rickettsia spp., Anaplasma and Ehrlichia were not identified. This is the first study reporting C. burnetii and Bartonella spp. infections in bats from the Atlantic Forest biome. Conclusions These findings shed light on potential host range for these bacteria, which are characterized as important zoonotic pathogens.

Chagas disease is a serious public health problem worldwide. In Brazil, the state of Pará has the largest number of reported cases. This article analyzes the spatial distribution of this disease and its relationship with socioeconomic, environmental, and public policy health variables in three mesoregions in the Pará state from 2013 to 2022. This ecological study used secondary data obtained from official Brazilian agencies. Spatial analysis was carried out using the flow, kernel, and bivariate global Moran techniques expressed in thematic maps. A total of 3664 cases of the disease were confirmed, with the highest number of cases being reported in the northeast of Pará. A seasonal pattern of the disease, an epidemiological profile similar to other diseases in the Amazon region, and the spatial dependence between the disease prevalence and socioeconomic indicators were observed. The most intense movement of patients for treatment was to the Belém metropolitan mesoregion, which has the majority of the health services and professionals. The disease showed an inhomogeneous pattern of cases in terms of the spatial distribution, with a direct relationship between areas with a higher number of cases and those with human clusters. The socioenvironmental origins of the disease transcend mesoregion boundaries and stem from the historically unsustainable development model in the Amazon.

Three specimens of Vampyrodes caraccioli were collected in Corupá and São Bento do Sul, in Santa Catarina state, increasing its geographic distribution extension by 170 km south. These specimens also represent the first record for the species in Santa Catarina. The knowledge about bats in Santa Catarina has increased in recent years, showing the need of basic studies about richness and diversity in different regions.

We present a new assessment of the genetic and morphological variation within Oxymycterus quaestorThomas, 1903, which currently includes the junior synonyms O. judex Thomas, 1909 and O. misionalisSanborn, 1931. We integrate distinct lines of evidence, including variation of mitochondrial (Cytochrome b [Cytb]) and nuclear (intron 7 of beta fibrinogen gene [Fgb]) sequences, and the assessment of skull quantitative traits based on geometric morphometrics, throughout the Atlantic Forest of Southeastern-Southern Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. Phylogenetic relationships based on Cytb indicate that O. quaestor is structured in four well-supported clades (lineages A–D), one of them (lineage C) including topotypes of a previously associated nominal form (O. judex). However, these Cytb lineages exhibit lower levels of differentiation based on the Fgb locus, and are not recovered in the genealogies of this nuclear marker, representing a case of mitonuclear discordance. The Cytb lineages also broadly overlapped in the morphospace both in skull shape and size, which sustain the current wider concept of O. quaestor as one single young species (0.947 Myr) that is recently expanding, and ultimately branching out, in the Atlantic Forest.

Chagas disease is a serious public health problem worldwide. In Brazil, the state of Para has the largest number of reported cases. This article analyzes the spatial distribution of this disease and its relationship with socioeconomic, environmental, and public policy health variables in three mesoregions in the Para state from 2013 to 2022. This ecological study used secondary data obtained from official Brazilian agencies. Spatial analysis was carried out using the flow, kernel, and bivariate global Moran techniques expressed in thematic maps. A total of 3664 cases of the disease were confirmed, with the highest number of cases being reported in the northeast of Para. A seasonal pattern of the disease, an epidemiological profile similar to other diseases in the Amazon region, and the spatial dependence between the disease prevalence and socioeconomic indicators were observed. The most intense movement of patients for treatment was to the Belem metropolitan mesoregion, which has the majority of the health services and professionals. The disease showed an inhomogeneous pattern of cases in terms of the spatial distribution, with a direct relationship between areas with a higher number of cases and those with human clusters. The socioenvironmental origins of the disease transcend mesoregion boundaries and stem from the historically unsustainable development model in the Amazon.

Herein we describe the first records of Molossops neglectus for the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The records are based on 3 specimens captured in the municipalities of Chapecó and São Domingos, in the western portion of the state. Considering that M. neglectus is an infrequent species in field surveys, new data on its geographical range is important to better understand the biology and ecology of M. neglectus.