Opportunistic feeding behaviour and Leishmania infantum detection in Phlebotomus perniciosus females collected in the human leishmaniasis focus of Madrid, Spain (2012-2018).

<h4>Background</h4>An outbreak of human leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum has been registered in an urban area of southwestern Madrid, Spain, since 2010. Entomological surveys carried out in the municipalities of Fuenlabrada, Leganés, Getafe and Humanes de Madrid showed that Phleb...

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Main Authors: Estela González, Ricardo Molina, Andrés Iriso, Sonia Ruiz, Irene Aldea, Ana Tello, Daniel Fernández, Maribel Jiménez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-03-01
Series:PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009240&type=printable
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author Estela González
Ricardo Molina
Andrés Iriso
Sonia Ruiz
Irene Aldea
Ana Tello
Daniel Fernández
Maribel Jiménez
author_facet Estela González
Ricardo Molina
Andrés Iriso
Sonia Ruiz
Irene Aldea
Ana Tello
Daniel Fernández
Maribel Jiménez
author_sort Estela González
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>An outbreak of human leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum has been registered in an urban area of southwestern Madrid, Spain, since 2010. Entomological surveys carried out in the municipalities of Fuenlabrada, Leganés, Getafe and Humanes de Madrid showed that Phlebotomus perniciosus is the only potential vector. In this work, an intensive molecular surveillance was performed in P. perniciosus females captured in the region between 2012 and 2018.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>A total of 1805 P. perniciosus females were analyzed for Leishmania infection, and 1189 of them also for bloodmeal identification. Eleven different species of vertebrate were detected by amplification and subsequent sequencing of the 359 bp cytb fragment. The most prevalent blood source identified was hare (n = 553, 46.51%), followed by rabbit (n = 262, 21.95%). Less frequent were cat (n = 45, 3.80%), human (n = 34, 2.90%), pig (n = 14, 1.20%), horse (n = 11, 0.93%), sheep (n = 3, 0.25%), rhea (n = 3, 0.25%), partridge (n = 1, 0.09%) and chicken (n = 1, 0.09%). The distribution of the blood meal sources varied between the different locations. Regarding L. infantum detection, PCR amplification of a fragment of kDNA, cpb gene and ITS1 region showed 162 positive specimens (8.97%). The highest infection rate was found in the municipality of Leganés (15.17%).<h4>Conclusions</h4>The results of this molecular survey in P. perniciosus, the only leishmaniasis vector in the outbreak occurred in southwestern Madrid region, showed its opportunistic blood-feeding behaviour, high infection rates and the differences between the different points. This study was an essential part of the intensive surveillance plan in the area and the results obtained have supported the implementation of control measures in the outbreak.
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spelling doaj-art-3f406a2b2bd649e9acf94d471727b22e2025-08-20T02:00:54ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352021-03-01153e000924010.1371/journal.pntd.0009240Opportunistic feeding behaviour and Leishmania infantum detection in Phlebotomus perniciosus females collected in the human leishmaniasis focus of Madrid, Spain (2012-2018).Estela GonzálezRicardo MolinaAndrés IrisoSonia RuizIrene AldeaAna TelloDaniel FernándezMaribel Jiménez<h4>Background</h4>An outbreak of human leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum has been registered in an urban area of southwestern Madrid, Spain, since 2010. Entomological surveys carried out in the municipalities of Fuenlabrada, Leganés, Getafe and Humanes de Madrid showed that Phlebotomus perniciosus is the only potential vector. In this work, an intensive molecular surveillance was performed in P. perniciosus females captured in the region between 2012 and 2018.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>A total of 1805 P. perniciosus females were analyzed for Leishmania infection, and 1189 of them also for bloodmeal identification. Eleven different species of vertebrate were detected by amplification and subsequent sequencing of the 359 bp cytb fragment. The most prevalent blood source identified was hare (n = 553, 46.51%), followed by rabbit (n = 262, 21.95%). Less frequent were cat (n = 45, 3.80%), human (n = 34, 2.90%), pig (n = 14, 1.20%), horse (n = 11, 0.93%), sheep (n = 3, 0.25%), rhea (n = 3, 0.25%), partridge (n = 1, 0.09%) and chicken (n = 1, 0.09%). The distribution of the blood meal sources varied between the different locations. Regarding L. infantum detection, PCR amplification of a fragment of kDNA, cpb gene and ITS1 region showed 162 positive specimens (8.97%). The highest infection rate was found in the municipality of Leganés (15.17%).<h4>Conclusions</h4>The results of this molecular survey in P. perniciosus, the only leishmaniasis vector in the outbreak occurred in southwestern Madrid region, showed its opportunistic blood-feeding behaviour, high infection rates and the differences between the different points. This study was an essential part of the intensive surveillance plan in the area and the results obtained have supported the implementation of control measures in the outbreak.https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009240&type=printable
spellingShingle Estela González
Ricardo Molina
Andrés Iriso
Sonia Ruiz
Irene Aldea
Ana Tello
Daniel Fernández
Maribel Jiménez
Opportunistic feeding behaviour and Leishmania infantum detection in Phlebotomus perniciosus females collected in the human leishmaniasis focus of Madrid, Spain (2012-2018).
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
title Opportunistic feeding behaviour and Leishmania infantum detection in Phlebotomus perniciosus females collected in the human leishmaniasis focus of Madrid, Spain (2012-2018).
title_full Opportunistic feeding behaviour and Leishmania infantum detection in Phlebotomus perniciosus females collected in the human leishmaniasis focus of Madrid, Spain (2012-2018).
title_fullStr Opportunistic feeding behaviour and Leishmania infantum detection in Phlebotomus perniciosus females collected in the human leishmaniasis focus of Madrid, Spain (2012-2018).
title_full_unstemmed Opportunistic feeding behaviour and Leishmania infantum detection in Phlebotomus perniciosus females collected in the human leishmaniasis focus of Madrid, Spain (2012-2018).
title_short Opportunistic feeding behaviour and Leishmania infantum detection in Phlebotomus perniciosus females collected in the human leishmaniasis focus of Madrid, Spain (2012-2018).
title_sort opportunistic feeding behaviour and leishmania infantum detection in phlebotomus perniciosus females collected in the human leishmaniasis focus of madrid spain 2012 2018
url https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009240&type=printable
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