title: Infection of sandflies by a cat naturally infected with Leishmania infantum.
abstract: Despite the recent reports of feline leishmaniosis from Southern Europe, cats are still regarded as unusual Leishmania hosts. A cat found chronically infected with Leishmania was submitted to xenodiagnosis. After being sedated, the animal was exposed to the bite of 100 laboratory-reared Phlebotomus perniciosus in a fine net cage for 90 min. Four out of 19 blood-fed sandflies (21%) showed motile promastigotes at the dissection. Parasites cultured from cat's lymph node and an infected fly were identical at PCR-RFLP genotyping and identified as Leishmania infantum MON-1, the main zymodeme responsible for human and canine leishmaniosis in Southern Europe. This is the first evidence of transmissibility of feline parasites to a proven vector, suggesting that cats may represent an additional domestic reservoir for L. infantum.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Vector-borne Diseases and International Health, MIPI Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. michele.maroli@iss.it
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maroli
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Pennisi
authors.forename: Trentina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Di Muccio
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Khoury
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gradoni
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gramiccia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000635:transmission*; D002415:Cats; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000469:parasitology*