Infection of sandflies by a cat naturally infected with Leishmania infantum.
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.
Maroli
Michele
M
Unit of Vector-borne Diseases and International Health, MIPI Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. michele.maroli@iss.it
Pennisi
Maria Grazia
MG
Di Muccio
Trentina
T
Khoury
Cristina
C
Gradoni
Luigi
L
Gramiccia
Marina
M
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*