Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, Bahia, Brasil.
Sci Rep. 2013;3:2352. doi: 10.1038/srep02352.
Leishmania infantum chagasi causes visceral leishmaniasis (VL); it is transmitted by the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis that injects saliva and parasites into the host's skin during a blood meal. Chickens represent an important blood source for sand flies and their presence in the endemic area is often cited as a risk factor for VL transmission. However, the role of chickens in VL epidemiology has not been well defined. Here, we tested if chicken antibodies against Lu. longipalpis salivary gland sonicate (SGS) could be used as markers of exposure to sand fly bites. All naturally exposed chickens in a VL endemic area in Brazil developed anti-SGS IgY antibodies. Interestingly, Lu. longipalpis recombinant salivary proteins rLJM17 and rLJM11 were also able to detect anti-SGS IgY antibodies. Taken together, these results show that chickens can be used to monitor the presence of Lu. longipalpis in the peri-domiciliary area in VL endemic regions, when used as sentinel animals.
恰加斯原虫引起内脏利什曼病（VL）；它通过沙蝇路氏长须舌蝇传播，在吸血时将唾液和寄生虫注入宿主的皮肤。鸡是沙蝇的重要血液来源，它们在流行地区的存在常被认为是 VL 传播的一个危险因素。然而，鸡在 VL 流行病学中的作用尚未得到很好的定义。在这里，我们测试了鸡针对路氏长须舌蝇唾液腺超声提取物（SGS）的抗体是否可用作接触沙蝇叮咬的标志物。巴西一个 VL 流行地区的所有自然暴露的鸡都产生了针对 SGS 的 IgY 抗体。有趣的是，路氏长须舌蝇重组唾液蛋白 rLJM17 和 rLJM11 也能够检测到针对 SGS 的 IgY 抗体。总之，这些结果表明，当用作哨兵动物时，鸡可用于监测 VL 流行地区的围巢区是否存在路氏长须舌蝇。
