title: Infection by Leishmania spp. in Free-Ranging Opossums (Didelphis albiventris) in an Environmentally Protected Area Inhabited by Humans in Southeastern Brazil.
abstract: There is a growing concern about the participation of wild hosts and reservoirs in the epidemiology of leishmaniasis, particularly within the context of increasingly frequent environmental changes and the expansion of the One Health concept. This work is a molecular research of infection by Leishmania spp. among the wildlife of an environmentally protected area located in the municipality of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The studied area has a history of intense environmental changes, with notifications of human cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the 1990s, and a focus of canine visceral leishmaniasis since 2009. Eighty-two wild mammals were sampled by monthly captures in this region over a 1-year period. Blood samples were collected from each animal and subjected to DNA extraction and PCR using primers for the region of the internal transcribed spacer-1. The results of gene sequencing for the first time revealed the infection of opossums (Didelphis albiventris) by Leishmania spp., subgenera Leishmania and Viannia, in Campinas. These findings, in addition to environmental and historical characteristics of the studied area, indicate a possible role of wildlife in the introduction and/or maintenance of natural foci of leishmaniasis transmission.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Public Health, School of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas-UNICAMP , Campinas, Brazil .
authors.forename: Laís Moraes
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Paiz
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Public Health, School of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas-UNICAMP , Campinas, Brazil .
authors.forename: Maria Rita
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Donalisio
authors.affiliation: 2 Bauru II Center of Regional Laboratories, Adolfo Lutz Institute , Bauru, Brazil .
authors.forename: Virgínia Bodelão
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Richini-Pereira
authors.affiliation: 3 Center for Systemic Parasitic Diseases, Adolfo Lutz Institute , São Paulo, Brazil .
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Motoie
authors.affiliation: 4 Surveillance Unit in Zoonosis, Campinas Municipal Health Secretariat , Campinas, Brazil .
authors.forename: Claudio Luiz
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Castagna
authors.affiliation: 3 Center for Systemic Parasitic Diseases, Adolfo Lutz Institute , São Paulo, Brazil .
authors.forename: José Eduardo
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Tolezano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D048293:Didelphis; D006801:Humans; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D015047:Zoonoses
keywords: Leishmania; PCR; epidemiology; wildlife; zoonosis