title: The first record in the Americas of an autochthonous case of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi in a domestic cat (Felix catus) from Cotia County, São Paulo State, Brazil.
abstract: A case of feline cutaneous leishmaniasis is reported in a domestic cat (Felis catus) as an apparently natural infection in a non-endemic area. Amastigotes were seem in smears of a nodular lesion on the cat's nose. No parasite could be seen in cytological preparations of liver or spleen but DNA obtained from a sample of the spleen produced the expected fragment in a Leishmania specific rDNA based PCR assay. The PCR product, a 520 bp fragment, was sequenced and the nucleotide sequence was identical to that of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi. These results are surprising since no autochthonous human or canine cases of visceral leishmaniasis have ever been reported from this region. This case suggests that natural transmission of this disease is occurring in this area, and that cats could act as a reservoir of L. (L.) infantum chagasi.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Controle de Zoonoses do Município de São Paulo, Rua Santa Eulália 86, 02031-020 Santana, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. elisasanmar@ig.com.br
authors.forename: Elisa San Martin Mouriz
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Savani
authors.forename: Maria Cecília Gibrail
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: de Oliveira Camargo
authors.forename: Marília Russi
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.forename: Ricardo Andrade
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Zampieri
authors.forename: Marcos Gonzaga
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: Sandra Regina Nicoletti
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: D'Auria
authors.forename: Jeffrey J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: Lucile Maria
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Floeter-Winter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D001938:Brazil; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D002415:Cats; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / Q000662:veterinary; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal