Visceral leishmaniasis in the hoary zorro Dusicyon vetulus: a case of mistaken identity

Abstract

The historical identification of the Brazilian 'north-eastern' zorro as Dusicyon vetulus is questioned in relation to its incrimination as a reservoir of Leishmania chagasi, the agent of American visceral leishmaniasis. Comparative cranial and dental morphology showed that specimens of this north-eastern species more closely resemble the crab-eating zorro Cerdocyon thous, conforming with the documented geographical ranges of the respective species. We conclude that the single 'wild' canid host of L. chagasi in the neotropics in C. thous.

Lutzomyia longipalpis and the eco-epidemiology of American visceral leishmaniasis, with particular reference to Brazil: a review

“…longipalpis (Deane & Deane 1954a), and the natural infection of foxes with that parasite (Deane & Deane 1954b). The foxes were identified as Lycalopex vetulus, but evidence exists that they were more likely to have been Cerdocyon thous (Courtenay et al 1996). Infections in Lu.…”

Serologic evidence of Leishmania infection in free-ranging wild and domestic canids around a Brazilian National Park

“…The domestic dog is an important reservoir and is responsible for the endemic and epidemic nature of the disease (Silva et al 2001, Courtenay et al 2002. Other mammals are natural reservoirs, such as marsupials, rodents (Zulueta et al 1999), the crab-eating fox C. thous (Lainson et al 1969, Courtenay et al 1996, Silva et al 2000. Crab-eating foxes are commonly infected but rarely infectious or symptomatic, although there are reports of individuals with clinical signs of the disease, which showed spontaneous recovery after showing symptoms (Courtenay et al 2002).…”

Visceral leishmaniasis in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

“…Foxes belonging to the species Lycalopex vetulus in the northeast (Deane & Deane 1954) [Now it may be referred as Cerdocyon thous (Courtenay et al 1996)] and C. thous in the Amazon (Lainson et al 1969, 1987, Silveira et al 1982 southeast region (Silva et al 2000), and Central Brazil (Mello et al 1988) act as natural hosts and are responsible for the disease in sylvatic environments. Human beings are a weak source of L. (L.) chagasi infection for phlebotomine sand flies and transmission largely depends on the presence of infected dogs (Lainson & Shaw 1987).…”