Ιoannis Tsakmakidis1, Katerina Angelopoulou2, Chrysostomos I Dovas3, Εmmanouil Dokianakis4, Αndroniki Tamvakis5, Isaia Symeonidou1, Μaria Antoniou4, Αnastasia Diakou1. 1. Laboratory of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. 2. Laboratory of Biochemistry and Toxicology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. 3. Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. 4. Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology, Parasitology, Zoonoses and Geographical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece. 5. Laboratory of Ecology and System Dynamics, Department of Marine Sciences, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of Leishmania infection in rodents from various areas of northern Greece. METHODS: Ninety-seven rodents (66 Mus musculus, 19 Rattus norvegicus and 12 R. rattus) were collected during pest control programmes and examined by cytology (spleen and liver smears), serology (ELISA) and PCR (real-time and gel-based) for Leishmania. Date, environment, sex, existence of dogs in the close environment were recorded for each rodent. RESULTS: All cytological preparations were negative, whereas specific IgG was detected in 54.5% in total; 70% of R. norvegicus; 50% of R. rattus; and 50% of M. musculus. In at least one molecular method, 19.6% of the samples in total were positive: 25% of R. rattus, 24% of M. musculus, but no R. norvegicus was found positive. Environment (semi-urban areas, P = 0.037) and species (M. musculus, P = 0.032) were associated with positive PCR. All infected animals showed evidence of low parasite burden, demonstrated by the negative cytological examinations and the high Ct values observed in real-time PCR. CONCLUSION: Due to the proximity of rodents to humans and dogs, these animals may be important in the epidemiology of leishmaniosis, especially if proven that they can infect sand flies.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of Leishmania infection in rodents from various areas of northern Greece. METHODS: Ninety-seven rodents (66 Mus musculus, 19 Rattus norvegicus and 12 R. rattus) were collected during pest control programmes and examined by cytology (spleen and liver smears), serology (ELISA) and PCR (real-time and gel-based) for Leishmania. Date, environment, sex, existence of dogs in the close environment were recorded for each rodent. RESULTS: All cytological preparations were negative, whereas specific IgG was detected in 54.5% in total; 70% of R. norvegicus; 50% of R. rattus; and 50% of M. musculus. In at least one molecular method, 19.6% of the samples in total were positive: 25% of R. rattus, 24% of M. musculus, but no R. norvegicus was found positive. Environment (semi-urban areas, P = 0.037) and species (M. musculus, P = 0.032) were associated with positive PCR. All infected animals showed evidence of low parasite burden, demonstrated by the negative cytological examinations and the high Ct values observed in real-time PCR. CONCLUSION: Due to the proximity of rodents to humans and dogs, these animals may be important in the epidemiology of leishmaniosis, especially if proven that they can infect sand flies.
Authors: Raul Rio Ribeiro; Marilene Suzan Marques Michalick; Manoel Eduardo da Silva; Cristiano Cheim Peixoto Dos Santos; Frédéric Jean Georges Frézard; Sydnei Magno da Silva Journal: Biomed Res Int Date: 2018-03-29 Impact factor: 3.411