title: Evidence for widespread Leishmania infantum infection among wild carnivores in L. infantum periendemic northern Spain.
abstract: Leishmania spp. infection was investigated in tissue samples of wild carnivores from the Spanish Basque Country (BC), by PCR and DNA sequencing. The region is at the northern periphery of Leishmania infantum endemic Iberian Peninsula and infection in the dog (reservoir) or other species has not been previously reported. Leishmania kinetoplast DNA was detected by real-time PCR (rtPCR) in 28% (44/156) of animals. Specifically, in 26% of Eurasian badgers (n=53), 29% of foxes (n=48), 29% of stone martens (n=21) and in 25-50% of less numerous species including genets, wild cats, pole cats, European mink and weasels. Infected animals particularly badgers, were most prevalent in the southernmost province of the BC (Araba) in areas dominated by arable land. Subsequent amplification and sequencing of a fragment of the rRNA internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) from a subset of rtPCR positives samples confirmed the species as L. infantum, showing a high sequence homogeneity with ITS2 sequences of L. infantum from dogs and humans from southern Spain. In summary, this study reports for the first time L. infantum infection in wild carnivores from the BC including in stone martens, pole cats and minks in which infection has not been previously described. It supports the need to study infection in dogs and people in this region and is an example of the value of infection surveillance in wildlife to assess potential risks in the domestic environment and their role in spreading infections in non-endemic areas.
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Del Río
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chitimia
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cubas
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Victoriano
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De la Rúa
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Instituto Vasco de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario (Neiker), Derio, Spain.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gerrikagoitia
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Instituto Vasco de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario (Neiker), Derio, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barral
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: C I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Muñoz-García
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goyena
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: García-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fisa
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Riera
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Murcia
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Segovia
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: berriatu@um.es.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Berriatua
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D046028:Canidae; D018105:DNA, Kinetoplast / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D045969:Mustelidae; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D045949:Viverridae
chemical_list: D018105:DNA, Kinetoplast
keywords: Leishmania infantum; Northern Spain; Periendemic; Wildlife