Risk of a vector-borne endemic zoonosis for wildlife: Hosts, large-scale geography, and diversity of vector-host interactions for Trypanosoma cruzi.

Drivers for wildlife infection are multiple and complex, particularly for vector-borne diseases. Here, we studied the role of host competence, geographic area provenance, and diversity of vector-host interactions as drivers of wild mammal infection risk to Trypanosoma cruzi, the aetiological agent of Chagas disease. We performed a systematic sampling of wild mammals in 11 states of Mexico, from 2017 to 2018. We tested the positivity of T. cruzi with the Tc24 marker in tissues samples for 61 wild mammal species (524 specimens sampled). 26 mammal species were positive for T. cruzi, of which 11 are new hosts recorded in Mexico 75 specimens were positive and 449 were negative for T. cruzi infection, yielding an overall prevalence of 14.3%. The standardized infection risk of T. cruzi of our examined specimens was similar, no matter the host species or their geographic origins. Additionally, we used published data of mammal positives for T. cruzi to complement records of T. cruzi infection in wild mammals and inferred a trophic network of Triatoma spp. (vectors) and wild mammal species in Mexico, using spatial data-mining modelling. Infection with T. cruzi was not homogeneously distributed in the inferred trophic network. This information allowed us to develop a predictive model for T. cruzi infection risk for wild mammals in Mexico, considering risk as a function of the diversity of vector-host spatial associations in a large-scale geographic context, finding that the addition of competent vectors to a multi-host parasite system amplifies host infection risk. The diversity of vector-host interactions per se constitutes a relevant driver of infection risk because hosts and vectors are not isolated from each other.

Occurrence and spatial distribution of triatomines (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in the urban area of the municipality of Montes Claros, Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The north of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais is classified as an area of high risk of vectorial transmission of Chagas disease (CD) or of reestablishing transmission in the home, but the Chagas disease control programme is disjointed. The study evaluated the occurrence, natural infection and the spatial distribution of species of triatomines associated with climatic variations in the urban area of Montes Claros, a municipality endemic to CD in the north of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Triatomine data were obtained from passive entomological surveillance actions of the Chagas Disease Control Program (Programa de Controle de Doença de Chagas-PCDCh), registered by the Zoonosis Control Center (Centro de Controle de Zoonoses-CCZ) from 2009 to 2019. A total of 277 triatomines belonging to eight species were collected, and of these, 203 insects were examined. It was found that 46.2% of triatomines were captured inside the home and 8.3% around the home. The natural infection rate was 6.9%; 14 specimens showed natural infection by Trypanosoma cruzi (12 females and 2 males), and of these, 13 were found in the home and one in an uninformed location. The number of triatomine records collected was significantly higher in the month of September (p = .01), and there was an inverse correlation between the number of triatomines and the relative humidity of the air (p < .001). It was verified that the highest triatomine densities are located in transition areas between urban infrastructure (32.12%) and pasture (25.72%). The diversity of species of triatomines infected with T. cruzi in residential units in urban areas in the municipality of Montes Claros is worrying, as it suggests a potential risk of transmission of the parasite to domestic animals and humans.

Molecular Detection of Leptospira interrogans and Borrelia burgdorferi in Wild Rodents from Mexico.

Leptospirosis and Lyme borreliosis are zoonotic emerging diseases of global importance and wide distribution. The aim of this study was to detect by molecular testing to Leptospira interrogans and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in wild rodents from Nuevo Leon, Quintana Roo, and Campeche, Mexico. This study is the first in report to Chaetodipus nelsoni, Dipodomys merriami, and Peromyscus eremicus infected with L. interrogans in Mexico. Besides, Chaetodipus hispidus, Heteromys gaumeri, Heteromys irroratus, Neotoma micropus, Peromyscus leucopus, Peromyscus maniculatus, and Sigmodon hispidus infected with B. burgdorferi s.l. in Mexico. Also, is the first report in identify coinfection of L. interrogans and B. burgdorferi s.l. in wild rodents such as H. irroratus and S. hispidus in Nuevo Leon, and H. gaumeri in Quintana Roo, Mexico. These wild rodent species infected represent a risk factor for the exposed population in these sylvatic and rural areas of Mexico.

Ecology of phlebotomine sandflies and putative reservoir hosts of leishmaniasis in a border area in Northeastern Mexico: implications for the risk of transmission of Leishmania mexicana in Mexico and the USA.

Leishmaniases are a group of important diseases transmitted to humans through the bite of sandfly vectors. Several forms of leishmaniases are endemic in Mexico and especially in the Southeast region. In the Northeastern region, however, there have only been isolated reports of cases and scanty records of sandfly vectors. The main objective of this study was to analyze the diversity of sandflies and potential reservoir hosts of Leishmania spp. in the states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. Species richness and abundances of sandflies and rodents were recorded. A fraction of the caught sandflies was analyzed by PCR to detect Leishmania spp. Tissues from captured rodents were also screened for infection. Ecological Niche Models (ENMs) were computed for species of rodent and their association with crop-growing areas. We found 13 species of sandflies, several of which are first records for this region. Medically important species such as Lutzomyia anthophora, Lutzomyia diabolica, Lutzomyia cruciata, and Lutzomyia shannoni were documented. Leishmania spp. infection was not detected in sandflies. Nine species of rodents were recorded, and Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana infection was found in four species of Peromyscus and Sigmodon. ENMs showed that potential distribution of rodent pest species overlaps with allocated crop areas. This shows that Leishmania (L.) mexicana infection is present in the Northeastern region of Mexico, and that previously unrecorded sandfly species occur in the same areas. These findings suggest a potential risk of transmission of Leishmania (L.) mexicana.

Can You Judge a Disease Host by the Company It Keeps? Predicting Disease Hosts and Their Relative Importance: A Case Study for Leishmaniasis.

Zoonoses are an important class of infectious diseases. An important element determining the impact of a zoonosis on domestic animal and human health is host range. Although for particular zoonoses some host species have been identified, until recently there have been no methods to predict those species most likely to be hosts or their relative importance. Complex inference networks infer potential biotic interactions between species using their degree of geographic co-occurrence, and have been posited as a potential tool for predicting disease hosts. Here we present the results of an interdisciplinary, empirical study to validate a model based on such networks for predicting hosts of Leishmania (L.) mexicana in Mexico. Using systematic sampling to validate the model predictions we identified 22 new species of host (34% of all species collected) with the probability to be a host strongly dependent on the probability of co-occurrence of vector and host. The results confirm that Leishmania (L.) mexicana is a generalist parasite but with a much wider host range than was previously thought. These results substantially change the geographic risk profile for Leishmaniasis and provide insights for the design of more efficient surveillance measures and a better understanding of potential dispersal scenarios.

Leishmania (L.) mexicana infected bats in Mexico: novel potential reservoirs.

Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana causes cutaneous leishmaniasis, an endemic zoonosis affecting a growing number of patients in the southeastern states of Mexico. Some foci are found in shade-grown cocoa and coffee plantations, or near perennial forests that provide rich breeding grounds for the sand fly vectors, but also harbor a variety of bat species that live off the abundant fruits provided by these shade-giving trees. The close proximity between sand flies and bats makes their interaction feasible, yet bats infected with Leishmania (L.) mexicana have not been reported. Here we analyzed 420 bats from six states of Mexico that had reported patients with leishmaniasis. Tissues of bats, including skin, heart, liver and/or spleen were screened by PCR for Leishmania (L.) mexicana DNA. We found that 41 bats (9.77%), belonging to 13 species, showed positive PCR results in various tissues. The infected tissues showed no evidence of macroscopic lesions. Of the infected bats, 12 species were frugivorous, insectivorous or nectarivorous, and only one species was sanguivorous (Desmodus rotundus), and most of them belonged to the family Phyllostomidae. The eco-region where most of the infected bats were caught is the Gulf Coastal Plain of Chiapas and Tabasco. Through experimental infections of two Tadarida brasiliensis bats in captivity, we show that this species can harbor viable, infective Leishmania (L.) mexicana parasites that are capable of infecting BALB/c mice. We conclude that various species of bats belonging to the family Phyllostomidae are possible reservoir hosts for Leishmania (L.) mexicana, if it can be shown that such bats are infective for the sand fly vector. Further studies are needed to determine how these bats become infected, how long the parasite remains viable inside these potential hosts and whether they are infective to sand flies to fully evaluate their impact on disease epidemiology.

Experimental inoculation of Artibeus jamaicensis bats with dengue virus serotypes 1 or 4 showed no evidence of sustained replication.

Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease to humans. Bats are potential reservoirs for flaviviruses, including dengue virus (DENV). In this work, Artibeus jamaicensis bats were inoculated with two serotypes of DENV using different routes. For experimental inoculations (EI) 1 and 2, bats were inoculated subcutaneously or intraperitoneally with DENV-4; for EI-3 bats were inoculated intraperitoneally with DENV-1. Mock inoculated bats were kept as controls. In EI-4, bats were bitten by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with DENV-1 or 4. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assays in plasma and spleen tissue collected from Day 1 to Days 9-17 after inoculation failed to reveal the presence of viral RNA in any of the samples. No evidence of circulating NS1 or specific anti-DENV IgG was detected in the plasma of the inoculated bats. These results indicate that A. jamaicensis bats are incapable of sustaining dengue virus replication and are unlikely to act as reservoirs for this virus.

Species distribution models and ecological suitability analysis for potential tick vectors of lyme disease in Mexico.

Species distribution models were constructed for ten Ixodes species and Amblyomma cajennense for a region including Mexico and Texas. The model was based on a maximum entropy algorithm that used environmental layers to predict the relative probability of presence for each taxon. For Mexico, species geographic ranges were predicted by restricting the models to cells which have a higher probability than the lowest probability of the cells in which a presence record was located. There was spatial nonconcordance between the distributions of Amblyomma cajennense and the Ixodes group with the former restricted to lowlands and mainly the eastern coast of Mexico and the latter to montane regions with lower temperature. The risk of Lyme disease is, therefore, mainly present in the highlands where some Ixodes species are known vectors; if Amblyomma cajennense turns out to be a competent vector, the area of risk also extends to the lowlands and the east coast.