Cotton Rats (Sigmodon hispidus) and Black Rats (Rattus rattus) as Possible Reservoirs of Leishmania spp. in Lara State, Venezuela

Abstract

A total of 519 wild animals belonging to eleven species were collected during a two year study in a cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic area in Venezuela (La Matica, Lara State). The animals were captured in home-made Tomahawk-like traps baited with maize, bananas or other available local fruits, and parasites were isolated from 27 specimens. Two different species were found naturally infected with flagellates, i.e., cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) and black rats (Rattus rattus).Characterization of the parasites using PCR, kDNA restriction pattern and hybridization with species-specific probes revealed the presence of Leishmania (L.) mexicana in three of the black rats and Leishmania (V.) braziliensis in two others. The latter species was also identified in the single positive specimen of S. hispidus. The results suggested both species of animals as possible reservoirs of Leishmania sp.

Leishmania in synanthropic rodents (Rattus rattus): new evidence for the urbanization of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis

“…Our prevalence based on ELISA was higher (23.3%) than previously reported (0% in Brazil and 4.1% in Sudan) and based on IFAT was lower (3.3%) than that of previous reports (27.2% in Tunisia and 51.3% in Brazil). The PCR prevalence was nine of 127 animals (7.1%), which is a low prevalence upon comparing to other studies performed in Brazil (BRANDÃO-FILHO et al, 2003;OLIVEIRA et al, 2005;QUARESMA et al, 2011;LIMA et al, 2013;CARDOSO et al, 2015;FERREIRA et al, 2015), South America (ALEXANDER et al, 1998;LIMA et al, 2002), Iran (AKHAVAN et al, 2010;DAVAMI et al, 2013;MIRZAEI et al, 2014), Saudi Arabia (IBRAHIM et al, 1992), Italy (ZANET et al, 2014), Spain (NAVEA-PÉREZ et al, 2015), and Portugal (HELHAZAR et al, 2013). This low prevalence in PCR could be explained by our use of total blood as sample; most other studies used both blood and tissue (liver, spleen, skin, bone marrow).…”

Ecology of the Leishmania Species in the Guianan Ecoregion Complex

“…In an area in Lara State outside the GEC that is endemic for CL, two rodents species were found to be naturally infected, one cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) and two black rats (Rattus rattus). 172 In Pará, isolates of Leishmania from the rodents Rhipidomys leucodactylus and Proechimys guyannensis were closely related to L. (V.) braziliensis. 31 Other isolates from areas of Brazil outside the GEC were obtained from R. rattus, D. marsupialis, Oryzomys sp., and Akodon sp.…”

Serological survey for Leishmania sp. infection in wild animals from the municipality of Maringá, Paraná state, Brazil

“…Leishmania (L.) mexicana has been found in big-eared climbing rats (Ototylomys phyllotis), blackeared rice-rats (Oryzomys melanotis), Yucatan deer-mice (Peromyscus yucatanicus) and hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) (12). Leishmania parasites have been found in armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus), foxes (Lycalopex vetulus) and in small rodents (Akodon arviculoides and Oryzomys nigripes) (9,13,14); while Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis has also been isolated from black rats (Rattus rattus) (5,(15)(16)(17)(18).…”