title: Topographic distribution of the sand flea Tunga penetrans in Wistar rats and humans in two endemic areas in Brazil.
abstract: Tungiasis is a zoonosis caused by Tunga penetrans. In Brazil, tungiasis is endemic in many resource-poor communities, in which various domestic and sylvatic animals act as reservoirs. Eighty laboratory-raised Wistar rats were exposed to T. penetrans in areas of intense transmission: a fishing village and an urban shantytown in Ceará State, northeast Brazil. The topographic distribution of lesions in Wistar rats was compared with the distribution of lesions in humans in the same area. Our results show that the topographic distribution of embedded sand fleas was almost identical in Wistar rats and humans and that lesions were confined to the feet. In humans, 76% of all lesions were located periungually, whereas in Wistar rats, 67% of lesions were located at the distal end of the digits (P = 0.73). Both had the majority of lesions at the toes and digits: 70.2% versus 65.7% (P = 0.79). The Wistar rat model mirrors human tungiasis in topographic distribution.
authors: Institute of Microbiology and Hygiene, Charité University of Medicine, Berlin, Germany. john.buckendahl@charite.de
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Buckendahl
authors: Jörg
authors: J
authors: Heukelbach
authors: Lars
authors: L
authors: Witt
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Schwalfenberg
authors: Cláudia M L
authors: CM
authors: Calheiros
authors: Hermann
authors: H
authors: Feldmeier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D058253:Tunga; D058285:Tungiasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*