Detection of Wuchereria bancrofti in the city of São Luís, state of Maranhão, Brazil: New incursion or persisting problem?
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
; 17(1): e0011091, 2023 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36716339
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) from Brazil by 2020 was not accomplished; however, this goal can be achieved in the upcoming years with the assistance of specific strategies. The surveillance of LF can be performed using molecular xenomonitoring (MX), a noninvasive method used to infer the presence of the parasite in the human population. Herein, São Luís (state of Maranhão) was the first city to be investigated to identify whether LF transmission in Brazil has been interrupted and if there were any new incursions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPALFINDINGS:
Mosquitoes were collected by aspiration at 901 points distributed among 11 neighborhoods in São Luís with records of patients with microfilaremia. Pools of engorged or gravid Culex quinquefasciatus females were evaluated by WbCx duplex PCR with endogenous control for mosquitoes and target for W. bancrofti for determining the vector infection rate. Among the 10,428 collected mosquitoes, the most abundant species were C. quinquefasciatus (85%) and Aedes aegypti (12%). Significantly larger numbers of mosquitoes were collected from the neighborhoods of Areinha and Coreia (p<0.05). MX performed using PCR validated 705 pools of engorged or gravid females, fifteen of which were positive for Wuchereria bancrofti in two neighborhoods.CONCLUSIONS:
The high density of engorged C. quinquefasciatus females per home, inadequate sanitation, and detection of W. bancrofti-infected mosquitoes in the city of São Luís represent a warning of the possible upsurge of LF, a disease that is still neglected; this underscores the need for the ostensive monitoring of LF in Brazil.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Elephantiasis, Filarial
/
Culex
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Animals
/
Female
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
America do sul
/
Brasil
Language:
En
Journal:
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
Journal subject:
MEDICINA TROPICAL
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Publication country:
EEUU
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS DA AMERICA
/
EUA
/
UNITED STATES
/
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
/
US
/
USA