Spatiotemporal changes in exposition risk to leishmaniases vector in residences within a fishing tourism area of Pantanal wetland.

Miranda Municipality of Mato Grosso do Sul, borders the Pantanal wetland, a famous fishing destination visited by tourists from all over the world, and is a location where visceral leishmaniasis has been reported. To assess the risk of Leishmania infantum transmission, we studied the sandfly community, focusing on known vector and parasite presence. We conducted light trap collections twice per month at nine sites within the city (including two forested areas) for one year. We collected a total of 12,727 sand flies, 10,891 males and 1,836 females belonging to 11 species: Brumptomyia avellari, Evandromyia aldafalcaoae, Ev. evandroi, Ev. lenti, Ev. sallesi, Ev. walkeri, Lu. longipalpis, Nyssomyia whitmani, Psathyromyia bigeniculata, Pa. hermanlenti and Pa. punctigeniculata. Lutzomyia longipalpis, the proven vector of Leishmania infantum, was captured each month, and was the most abundant species observed, accounting for more than 99% of sand flies captured in most sites, especially where chicken coops were present. Evidence of Leishmania infantum infection was detected in 0.40% of Lu. longipalpis tested. We developed a generalized mixed multilevel model for Lu. longipalpis, that includes within-year seasonality, location of capture (indoors vs. outdoors), vector abundance, and sex ratio. The VL vector was abundant both inside and outside houses. Large numbers of Lu. longipalpis were observed in outdoor sites where domestic animals were present but were absent from forest sites. Our findings suggest high vector populations and Le. infantum presence in a city where tourists could be exposed to visceral leishmaniasis, with significant implications for more surveillance and control activities.

Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis in an Area of Sporadic Transmission in Brazil.

Canine visceral leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Leishmania infantum in Latin America. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) diagnosis in Brazil includes two serological tests according to the Ministry of Health (MH) protocol. Sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests, as well as clinical signs of VL, are usually reported in disease-endemic areas; however, it is known that local epidemiological factors can influence these results. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical features, sensitivity, and specificity of TR-DPP® and EIE-LVC in naturally infected dogs in a region of sporadic VL transmission to humans in Brazil. A total of 288 dogs were clinically evaluated and serological and parasitological (lymph node aspirates) samples were collected for VL diagnosis. TR-DPP and EIE-LVC showed poor sensitivity (0.62 and 0.44, respectively) to detect infected animals, compared with the direct parasitological examination, which is considered a gold standard method. Thus, the protocol of MH presented low sensitivity (0.42) to estimate prevalence and control measures in this region. TR-DPP presented a high negative predictive value (0.89), resulting in its indication as a confirmatory test in sporadic transmission areas. Classical clinical signs of VL were not frequently observed; therefore, clinical scoring systems might not be useful in this region. Veterinarians of nonendemic areas should be alert for asymptomatic dogs, especially those presenting lymph adenomegaly.