The Prevalence of Genital Mycoplasmas and Coinfection with Trichomonas vaginalis in Female Patients in Vienna, Austria.

Trichomonas vaginalis causes trichomoniasis, the most recurrent sexually transmitted infection (STI) worldwide. Genital mycoplasmas, not considered STI agents, are frequently isolated from the female genital tract. A symbiosis between Mycoplasma species and T. vaginalis has been described. The aim of this study was to conduct molecular-based analyses of vaginal specimens, thus assessing the prevalence of non-STI Mycoplasma infections. In total, 582 samples from female patients and an additional 20 T. vaginalis isolates were analyzed by PCR using Mycoplasma specific 16S rRNA primers, and the obtained PCR products were sequenced. Mycoplasma species were detected in 28.2% of the collected vaginal samples. Mycoplasma hominis was found in 21.5% of the specimens, Ureaplasma species were found in 7.5% of the samples. The molecular data of the newly described species, CandidatusMycoplasma girerdii, were obtained for the first time in Austria, in a sample also positive for T. vaginalis. Analyses of the cultivated T. vaginalis strains confirmed the presence of M. hominis in two out of 20 samples. A comparably high prevalence of genital mycoplasmas was revealed through advanced diagnostic assays, with M. hominis and U. parvum being the most prevalent species. The previously described symbiotic relationship between M. hominis and T. vaginalis was confirmed.

First Detection and Molecular Analysis of Leishmania infantum DNA in Sand Flies of Kosovo.

Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are the principal vectors of phleboviruses and Leishmania spp., the causative agents of leishmaniases. The Mediterranean sand fly fauna is diverse, and leishmaniasis, mainly caused by Leishmania infantum, is endemic in the Balkan countries. Despite recent entomological surveys, only some districts of Kosovo have been sampled for sand flies, with no proof/confirmation of L. infantum. This study aimed to gain further insights into the species composition of natural sand fly populations in previously unsampled districts and areas in Kosovo without reports of leishmaniasis and to detect Leishmania DNA in sand flies. A sand fly survey was conducted in 2022 in all seven districts of Kosovo. Collected females were screened for Leishmania DNA by PCR. Positive samples were sequenced and subjected to maximum likelihood analysis with reference sequences for further molecular characterization. The trapping activities at 114 different localities resulted in 3272 caught specimens, comprising seven sand fly species of two genera, namely Phlebotomus neglectus, Ph. perfiliewi, Ph. tobbi, Ph. papatasi, Ph. simici, Ph. balcanicus and Sergentomyia minuta. Leishmania infantum DNA was detected in three individual sand flies of Ph. neglectus and Ph. perfiliewi. This study provides the most extensive sand fly survey in Kosovo and reports the first record of L. infantum DNA in sand flies, indicating autochthonous circulation of L. infantum.

Reconstructing the post-glacial spread of the sand fly Phlebotomus mascittii Grassi, 1908 (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Europe.

Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Phlebotominae) are the principal vectors of Leishmania spp. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae). In Central Europe, Phlebotomus mascittii is the predominant species, but largely understudied. To better understand factors driving its current distribution, we infer patterns of genetic diversity by testing for signals of population expansion based on two mitochondrial genes and model current and past climate and habitat suitability for seven post-glacial maximum periods, taking 19 climatic variables into account. Consequently, we elucidate their connections by environmental-geographical network analysis. Most analyzed populations share a main haplotype tracing back to a single glacial maximum refuge area on the Mediterranean coasts of South France, which is supported by network analysis. The rapid range expansion of Ph. mascittii likely started in the early mid-Holocene epoch until today and its spread possibly followed two routes. The first one was through northern France to Germany and then Belgium, and the second across the Ligurian coast through present-day Slovenia to Austria, toward the northern Balkans. Here we present a combined approach to reveal glacial refugia and post-glacial spread of Ph. mascittii and observed discrepancies between the modelled and the current known distribution might reveal yet overlooked populations and potential further spread.