Deep Sequencing Reveals Occult Mansonellosis Coinfections in Residents From the Brazilian Amazon Village of São Gabriel da Cachoeira

Abstract

Mansonella ozzardi and Mansonella perstans infections both cause mansonellosis but are usually treated differently. Using a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay and deep sequencing, we reveal the presence of mansonellosis coinfections that were undetectable by standard diagnostic methods. Our results confirm mansonellosis coinfections and have important implications for the disease’s treatment and diagnosis.

Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequence of Mansonella perstans

“… Mansonella perstans is one of three species in the Mansonella genus and is a causative agent of the neglected tropical disease human mansonellosis ( 1 ). Despite the prevalence of mansonellosis, no whole-genome sequences are available for Mansonella spp., and only the Mansonella ozzardi mitochondrial genome has been deposited in GenBank ( 2 , 3 ).…”

“…Infective larvae (L3s) were obtained from Culicoides midges that had been kept for 12 days in the laboratory following a blood meal (1,500 microfilariae/ml) on a microfilaria-positive donor from Ediki Village, Kumba Health District, Cameroon, who had provided informed consent, as approved by the National Institutional Review Board, Yaoundé, Cameroon (protocol 2015/09/639/CE/CNERSH/SP), and the Delegation of Public Health, South West Region, Cameroon (protocol R11/MINSANTE/SWR/RDPH/PS/259/382), as described previously ( 3 ). The objectives of the study and safety procedures were explained to the volunteer, who provided signed consent and received mebendazole to cure the M. perstans infection at the study conclusion.…”

Multiple origins of nematode-Wolbachiasymbiosis in supergroup F and convergent loss of bacterioferritin in filarialWolbachia

“…M. ozzardi infections have been reported from many countries in South and Central America, including some Caribbean Islands 10,12,15,16 . Importantly, co-infections of M. perstans and M. ozzardi have been reported in South America 17,18 , making their treatment challenging as the two species respond differently to the commonly used anti-filarial drugs 12 . Antibiotics targeting Wolbachia have been successful in treating filarial diseases such as onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis 4,[19][20][21][22][23][24] .…”

“…The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted March 23, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.23.436630 doi: bioRxiv preprint antibiotics will have a similar effect against M. ozzardi 28 , enabling the use of a single drug to treat co-infections with M. ozzardi and M. perstans 18 .…”

“…Doxycycline, an effective anti- Wolbachia antibiotic, has been shown to clear M. perstans microfilariae 12, 25–27 . Although no clinical trials have been reported, it is likley that antibiotics will have a similar effect against M. ozzardi 28 , enabling the use of a single drug to treat co-infections with M. ozzardi and M. perstans 18 .…”