A Study of the Sandfly Population in Endemic Foci of Infantile Kala-azar in Italy

1931 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Adler ◽  
O. Theodor

The sandflies of the two largest Italian foci of visceral leishmaniasis, Naples and Catania, were studied.The following species were found : P. papatasii, P. perniciosus, P. sergenti, P. vesuvianus, sp. n., P. parroti var. italicus var. n.P. papatasii and P. perniciosus are the commonest sandflies in the areas examined.Out of 1,547 ♀♀ dissected none showed a natural infection with Leishmania.P. papatasii was infected with Italian strains of L. infantum by feeding on cultures through membranes. The infection rate was low, but in contrast to Indian strains of L. donovani in the same sandfly, the infection once established did not die out.

2016 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 1383-1385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Golam Hasnain ◽  
Dinesh Mondal ◽  
Shakhawat Hossain ◽  
Shinjiro Hamano ◽  
Prakash Ghosh ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Henrique Nery Costa

INTRODUCTION: Zoonotic kala-azar, a lethal disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania is considered out of control in parts of the world, particularly in Brazil, where transmission has spread to cities throughout most of the territory and mortality presents an increasing trend. Although a highly debatable measure, the Brazilian government regularly culls seropositive dogs to control the disease. Since control is failing, critical analysis concerning the actions focused on the canine reservoir was conducted. METHODS: In a review of the literature, a historical perspective focusing mainly on comparisons between the successful Chinese and Soviet strategies and the Brazilian approach is presented. In addition, analyses of the principal studies regarding the role of dogs as risk factors to humans and of the main intervention studies regarding the efficacy of the dog killing strategy were undertaken. Brazilian political reaction to a recently published systematic review that concluded that the dog culling program lacked efficiency and its effect on public policy were also reviewed. RESULTS: No firm evidence of the risk conferred by the presence of dogs to humans was verified; on the contrary, a lack of scientific support for the policy of killing dogs was confirmed. A bias for distorting scientific data towards maintaining the policy of culling animals was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Since there is no evidence that dog culling diminishes visceral leishmaniasis transmission, it should be abandoned as a control measure. Ethical considerations have been raised regarding distorting scientific results and the killing of animals despite minimal or absent scientific evidence


2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Henrique Conde Sangenis ◽  
Sebastião Roberto de Almeida Lima ◽  
Cíntia Xavier de Mello ◽  
Daniela Trindade Cardoso ◽  
Jurema Nunes Mello ◽  
...  

Visceral Leishmaniasis has been showing remarkable epidemiological changes in recent decades, with marked expansion and an emergence of cases in urban areas of the North, Southeast and Midwest regions of Brazil. The Kala-azar cases reported here, despite being very characteristic, presented a great difficulty of diagnosis, because the disease is not endemic in Volta Redonda. The child underwent two hospitalizations in different hospitals, but got the correct diagnosis only after 11 months of symptom onset. In this report we discuss the main differential diagnoses and call attention to the suspected symptoms of visceral leishmaniasis in patients with prolonged fever, hepatosplenomegaly and pancytopenia, even in areas not traditionally endemic for the disease.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 320-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafaella Albuquerque Silva ◽  
Fabricio Kassio Moura Santos ◽  
Lindemberg Caranha de Sousa ◽  
Elizabeth Ferreira Rangel ◽  
Claudia Maria Leal Bevilaqua

The main vector for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Brazil is Lutzomyia longipalpis. However, the absence of L. longipalpis in a region of autochthonous VL demonstrates the participation of other species in the transmission of the parasite. Studies conducted in La Banda, Argentina, and São Vicente Férrer, Pernambuco State, Brazil, have correlated the absence of L. longipalpisand the presence of L. migonei with autochthonous cases of VL. In São Vicente Férrer, Pernambuco, there was evidence for the natural infection of L. migonei with Leishmania infantum chagasi. Thus, the objective of this work was to assess the ecology of the sand flies L. longipalpis and L. migonei in Fortaleza, an endemic area for VL. Insect capture was conducted at 22 sampling points distributed across four regions of Fortaleza. In total, 32,403 sand flies were captured; of these, 18,166 (56%) were identified as L. longipalpis and 14,237 (44%) as L. migonei. There were significant density differences found between the vectors at each sampling site (indoors and outdoors) (p <0.0001). These findings confirm that L. migonei and L. longipalpis are distributed throughout Fortaleza, where they have adapted to an indoor environment, and suggest that L. migonei may share the role as a vector with L. longipalpis in the transmission of VL in Fortaleza.


2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Cezar do Nascimento ◽  
Byanca Regina de Paiva ◽  
Rosely dos Santos Malafronte ◽  
Wedson Desidério Fernandes ◽  
Eunice Aparecida Bianchi Galati

The main purpose of this study was to investigate natural infection by Leishmania in phlebotomine females in a visceral-leishmaniasis focus in Antonio João county in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. Between June and October 2003, the digestive tracts of 81 females captured in Aldeia Campestre, Aldeia Marangatu and Povoado Campestre were dissected. The females were separated by species, location, area and date of capture into 13 groups and kept in ethanol 70%. To identify the Leishmania species using the PCR technique, amplifications of the ribosomal-DNA (rDNA) and mini-exon genes were analyzed. Of the 81 specimens, 77 (95%) were Lutzomyia longipalpis, making this the most common species; only one specimen of each of the species Brumptomyia avellari, Evandromyia cortelezzii, Evandromyia lenti and Nyssomyia whitmani was found. Trypanosomatids were identified in eight of the nine groups of Lutzomyia longipalpis (10.39%) one group from Aldeia Campestre, one from Aldeia Marangatu and six from Povoado Campestre; of the eight groups, one from Aldeia Marangatu and another, with promastigotes forms also confirmed by dissection (1.23%) from Povoado Campestre, were identified by PCR as Leishmania chagasi (2.6%). The other groups gave negative results. These findings indicate that there is a high risk of leishmaniasis transmission in this area.


2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 253-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederico A. Lima Verde ◽  
Francisco A.A. Lima Verde ◽  
Francisco José V. Veronese ◽  
Augusto S. Neto ◽  
Galdino Fuc ◽  
...  

There are few reports linking hyponatremia and visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar). This is a study of 55 consecutive kala-azar patients and 20 normal individuals as a control group. Hyponatremia and serum hypo-osmolality were detected in 100% of kala-azar patients. High first morning urine osmolality (750.0 ± 52.0 vs. 894.5 ± 30.0mOsm/kg H2O, p < 0.05), and high 24-hour urine osmolality (426.0 ± 167.0 vs. 514.6 ± 132.0 mOsm/kg H2O, p < 0.05) demonstrated persistent antidiuretic hormone secretion. Urinary sodium was high (82.3 ± 44.2 vs.110.3 ± 34.7 mEq/L, p < 0.05). Low seric uric acid occurred in 61.8% of patients and increased fractional urinary uric acid excretion was detected in 74.5% of them. Increased glomerular filtration rate was present in 25.4% of patients. There was no evidence of extracellular volume depletion. Normal plasma ADH levels were observed in kala-azar patients. No endocrine or renal dysfunction was detected. It is possible that most hyponatremic kala-azar patients present the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion.


1970 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 216-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Abdus Salam ◽  
Dinesh Mondal ◽  
Mamun Kabir ◽  
Rashidul Haque

Background: A new unique latex agglutination test (KAtex) that detects a stable, nonprotein, disease specific parasite antigen in the freshly voided urine of patients suffering from active kala-azar has been introduced by Kalon Biological Ltd. UK. This is absolutely non-invasive method of diagnosis for visceral leishmaniasis and suitable for implementation as a rapid diagnostic tool at the point of care. Objective: Diagnostic potential of KAtex was evaluated among clinically suspected kala-azar patients in an endemic zone of Bangladesh. Methodology: KAtex was done using freshly voided urine according to the manufacturer’s instructions for sixty (60) clinically suspected patients of kala-azar admitted in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH), Bangladesh and forty (40) healthy controls during December 2005 to June 2006. Leishmania nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (Ln-PCR) using peripheral blood buffy coat was performed for all study population (100) and Ln-PCR positive cases were considered as confirmed cases of kalaazar. Results: Out of 60 clinically suspected kala-azar patients, 56 were Ln-PCR positive and 53 of 56 Ln-PCR positive cases were KAtex positive (sensitivity, 94.64%; Mantel-Haenszel Chi sq. 79.66, p= 0.0000, confidence interval [CI], >95 to 100%). None of the healthy controls was found positive by Ln-PCR but 2 of 40 were KAtex positive (specificity, 95%; confidence interval [CI], >95 to 100%). The positive and negative predictive values of KAtex were noted as 98.10% and 92.85% respectively. Conclusion: This limited prospective study suggests that KAtex is an absolutely non-invasive urinebased antigen detection test with high sensitivity and specificity and may be useful for screening active kala-azar patients, particularly suitable for field use. Key words: Visceral leishmaniasis; Kala-azar; KAtex; Ln-PCR; sensitivity; specificity. DOI: 10.3329/bjms.v9i4.6688Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.09 No.4 July 2010 pp.216-222


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document