Journal Article

Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis type 2 as probable etiological agent of canine cutaneous leishmaniasis in Brazilian Amazon

Dorval, Maria Elizabeth Cavalheiros, Brilhante, Andreia Fernandes, Lima, Luciana, Floeter-Winter, Lucile Maria, Teixeira, Marta Maria Geraldes, Nunes, Vânia Lúcia Brandão, Ishikawa, Edna Aoba Yassui, Galati, Eunice Aparecida Bianchi, Melchior, Leonardo Augusto Kohara, Cardoso, Cristiane de Oliveira, Malavazi, Patrícia Fernandes Nunes da Silva, Zampieri, Ricardo Andrade

2019

Overview

Canine cutaneous leishmaniasis (CCL) is a zoonosis of public health interest, and in the Americas, Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis has been identified as the main etiological agent. The present study sought to investigate Leishmania spp. infection in domestic dogs from a rural area of the Xapuri municipality, Acre state, Brazilian Amazonia. For this purpose, visits were carried out to domiciles where the human cases of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) occurred, followed by the clinical evaluation of the animals in search of clinical signs suggestive of CCL. Blood samples were collected from 40 dogs, 13 of which had lesions suggestive of CCL, and biopsies of these lesions were performed. The methods used were Neal, Novy, and Nicolle's (NNN) medium cultures and direct parasitological examination. Further, to detect and characterize Leishmania DNA some molecular techniques were performed such as conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing targeting SSU rDNA and ITS1, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and high resolution melting (HRM) analysis targeting hsp70. The investigation revealed that the results obtained from the parasitological methods were negative. In PCR by ITS1 and network topology sequences, six strains from dogs, isolated from the Peruvian Andes, appeared identical to Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis type 2 (99-100%). By other molecular methods these samples turned out to be positive to Leishmania (Viannia) sp.. The diagnosis of Leishmania in domestic dogs from Acre state showed a high proportion of infected animals, and the occurrence of L. braziliensis type 2 in Brazil for the first time. This new report suggests that L. braziliensis type 2 is both trans- and cis-Andean. However, more studies are needed regarding the clinical and diagnostic aspects of this species of Leishmania.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Animals / Base Sequence / Biology and Life Sciences / Biopsy / Brazil - epidemiology / Case studies / Cutaneous leishmaniasis / Deoxyribonucleic acid / Diagnosis / Diagnostic systems / DNA / DNA, Ribosomal - genetics / Dog Diseases - parasitology / Dogs / Domestic animals / EDTA / Etiology / Heat shock proteins / Hsp70 protein / Infection / Infections / Laboratories / Leishmania / Leishmania braziliensis - physiology / Leishmaniasis / Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - epidemiology / Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - parasitology / Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - veterinary / Lesions / Medical research / Medicine and Health Sciences / Network architectures / Network topologies / Parasitic diseases / People and places / Polymerase chain reaction / Polymorphism / Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length / Public health / Registries / Research and Analysis Methods / Restriction fragment length polymorphism / Risk factors / Rural areas / Topology / Transition Temperature / Vector-borne diseases / Zoonoses