Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET), Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, 28220 Madrid, Spain.
Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:318254. doi: 10.1155/2014/318254. Epub 2014 Mar 3.
Leishmaniasis is one of the most important neglected zoonosis and remains endemic in at least 88 developing countries in the world. In addition, anthropogenic environmental changes in urban areas are leading to its emergency world wide. Zoonotic leishmaniasis control might only be achieved by an integrated approach targeting both the human host and the animal reservoirs, which in certain sylvatic cycles are yet to be identified. Recently, hares have been pointed out as competent reservoirs of Leishmania infantum in Spain, but the role of other lagomorphs has not been clarified. Here, 69 rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from a natural area in Madrid in which a high density was present were analyzed using indirect (immunofluorescence antibody test, IFAT) and direct (PCR, culture) techniques. Fifty-seven (82.6%) of the animals were positive to at least one technique, with IFAT yielding the highest proportion of positive samples. L. infantum was isolated in 13% animals demonstrating the occurrence of infection in this setting. Our results suggest that rabbits could play a role of competent reservoir of L. infantum and demonstrate that the prevalence of infection is high in the analyzed area.
利什曼病是最重要的被忽视的人畜共患病之一，在世界上至少 88 个发展中国家仍然流行。此外，城市地区人为的环境变化导致其在全球范围内紧急出现。只有通过针对人类宿主和动物储存宿主的综合方法才能控制人畜共患利什曼病，而在某些森林循环中，这些宿主仍有待确定。最近，野兔被指出是西班牙利什曼原虫的有能力的储存宿主，但其他兔形目动物的作用尚未阐明。在这里，使用间接（免疫荧光抗体试验，IFAT）和直接（PCR、培养）技术分析了来自马德里一个自然区域的 69 只兔子（Oryctolagus cuniculus），该区域存在高密度。至少有一种技术的 57 只（82.6%）动物呈阳性，IFAT 产生的阳性样本比例最高。在 13%的动物中分离出了 L. infantum，证明了在这种环境下存在感染。我们的结果表明，兔子可能在 L. infantum 中发挥有能力的储存宿主的作用，并证明在分析区域感染的流行率很高。
