[Trypanosomatid (Protozoa, Kinetoplastida) parasites of sloths (Mannmalia, Xenarthra)].
Worldwide famous for their slothfulness, sloths are xenarthran mammals living in the tropical forests of the New World. In these highly biodiverse habitats, sloths are implicated in long-term interactions with many organisms. They are especially involved in the parasitic cycles of various trypanosomatids including human parasites. This review describes the different species of the genera Leishmania, Endotrypanum and Trypanosoma that infect sloths. The improvement of the preventive method efficacy against synanthropozoonotic diseases due to several of these protozoa relies on studies on the ecology and biology of wild reservoir hosts such as sloths.
Rotureau
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Laboratoire hospitalo-universitaire de parasitologie et mycologie médicale, équipe EA 3593, UFR de médecine de l'Université des Antilles et de la Guyane, Campus St-Denis, BP 718, 97300 Cayenne, Guyane française. rotureaubrice@yahoo.com
D000818:Animals; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D012896:Sloths / Q000469:parasitology*; D014351:Trypanosomatina / Q000502:physiology