Natural Infection of Humans, Animals, and Phlebotomine Sand Flies with the Alagoas Serotype of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus in Colombia

Abstract Among neglected tropical diseases, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) shows great relevance in global terms and is a serious public health concern due to the possibility of severe and lethal forms in humans. In this study, we evaluate entomological factors such as diversity and abundance of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera:Psychodidae) and the Leishmania species circulating in these species in possible association with VL transmission in the Brazilian town Itaúna. The entomological collections were performed during three consecutive nights, always in the third week of each month, within a period of 12 mo. A total of 1,786 sand fly specimens were collected, from which 20% were collected inside houses. The influence of three local climatic variables (temperature, rainfall, relative humidity) on the population sizes of these insects was evaluated. Temperature was the most influential factor, with a significant positive correlation with the local population size of phlebotomine sand flies collected per month. Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva, 1912) was the predominant species in the study area. Leishmania DNA was detected in nine out of 133 pools of sand fly females, using nested/PCR, which resulted in a minimal natural infection rate of 2.91%. DNA from Leishmania infantum Nicolle, 1908 (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatida), was detected in Evandromyia cortelezzii (Bréthes, 1923), Ev. evandroi (Costa, Lima & Antunes, 1936), Ev. lenti (Mangabeira, 1938), and Ev. termitophila (Martins, Falcão & Silva, 1964), besides Lu. longipalpis. Our study indicates favorable conditions for VL spreading in Itaúna due to the presence of Lu. longipalpis and Le. infantum-infected phlebotomine sand flies.

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Ecology, feeding and natural infection by Leishmania spp. of phlebotomine sand flies in an area of high incidence of American tegumentary leishmaniasis in the municipality of Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil

Parasites & Vectors ◽

10.1186/s13071-018-2641-y ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Márcia Moreira de Ávila ◽

Andreia Fernandes Brilhante ◽

Cristian Ferreira de Souza ◽

Paula Dias Bevilacqua ◽

Eunice Aparecida Bianchi Galati ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Natural Infection ◽

Sand Flies ◽

Phlebotomine Sand Flies ◽

Tegumentary Leishmaniasis ◽

High Incidence ◽

American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis ◽

Leishmania Spp

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Aspects on the ecology of phlebotomine sand flies and natural infection by Leishmania hertigi in the Southeastern Amazon Basin of Brazil

Acta Tropica ◽

10.1016/j.actatropica.2017.09.023 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 177 ◽

pp. 37-43 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sirlei Franck Thies ◽

Roberta Vieira de Morais Bronzoni ◽

Érika Monteiro Michalsky ◽

Emerson Soares dos Santos ◽

David José Ferreira da Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amazon Basin ◽

Natural Infection ◽

Sand Flies ◽

Phlebotomine Sand Flies

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Lutzomyia longipalpis naturally infected by Leishmania (L.) chagasi in Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso State, Brazil, an area of intense transmission of visceral leishmaniasis

Cadernos de Saúde Pública ◽

10.1590/s0102-311x2010001200020 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 26 (12) ◽

pp. 2414-2419 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Nanci A. Missawa ◽

Érika Monteiro Michalsky ◽

Consuelo Latorre Fortes-Dias ◽

Edelberto Santos Dias

Keyword(s):

Visceral Leishmaniasis ◽

Polymerase Chain Reaction Amplification ◽

Natural Infection ◽

Rflp Analysis ◽

Lutzomyia Longipalpis ◽

Sand Flies ◽

Mato Grosso ◽

Phlebotomine Sand Flies ◽

Leishmania Spp ◽

Reaction Amplification

The American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) is caused by parasites belonging to the genus Leishmania (Trypanosomatidae) and is transmitted to humans through the bite of certain species of infected phlebotomine sand flies. In this study, we investigated the natural infection ratio of Lutzomyia longipalpis, the main vector species of AVL in Brazil, in Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso State. Between July 2004 and June 2006, phlebotomine sand flies were captured in peridomestic areas using CDC light-traps. Four hundred and twenty (420) specimens of Lu. longipalpis were captured. 42 pools, containing 10 specimens of Lu. longipalpis each, were used for genomic DNA extraction and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplification. Leishmania spp. DNA was detected in three out of the 42 pools tested, resulting in a minimal infection ratio of 0.71%. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis indicated that Leishmania (L.) chagasi was the infective agent in the positive pools.

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mRNA vaccine-elicited antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and circulating variants

10.1101/2021.01.15.426911 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Zijun Wang ◽

Fabian Schmidt ◽

Yiska Weisblum ◽

Frauke Muecksch ◽

Christopher O. Barnes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Monoclonal Antibodies ◽

Vesicular Stomatitis Virus ◽

Neutralizing Antibodies ◽

Natural Infection ◽

Protein S ◽

Memory B Cells ◽

Receptor Binding Domain ◽

Cell Responses ◽

Specific Memory ◽

Vesicular Stomatitis

To date severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected over 100 million individuals resulting in over two million deaths. Many vaccines are being deployed to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) including two novel mRNA-based vaccines1,2. These vaccines elicit neutralizing antibodies and appear to be safe and effective, but the precise nature of the elicited antibodies is not known3–6. Here we report on the antibody and memory B cell responses in a cohort of 20 volunteers who received either the Moderna (mRNA-1273) or Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) vaccines. Consistent with prior reports, 8 weeks after the second vaccine injection volunteers showed high levels of IgM, and IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S) and receptor binding domain (RBD) binding titers3,5,6. Moreover, the plasma neutralizing activity, and the relative numbers of RBD-specific memory B cells were equivalent to individuals who recovered from natural infection7,8. However, activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants encoding E484K or N501Y or the K417N:E484K:N501Y combination was reduced by a small but significant margin. Consistent with these findings, vaccine-elicited monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) potently neutralize SARS-CoV-2, targeting a number of different RBD epitopes in common with mAbs isolated from infected donors. Structural analyses of mAbs complexed with S trimer suggest that vaccine- and virus-encoded S adopts similar conformations to induce equivalent anti-RBD antibodies. However, neutralization by 14 of the 17 most potent mAbs tested was reduced or abolished by either K417N, or E484K, or N501Y mutations. Notably, the same mutations were selected when recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV)/SARS-CoV-2 S was cultured in the presence of the vaccine elicited mAbs. Taken together the results suggest that the monoclonal antibodies in clinical use should be tested against newly arising variants, and that mRNA vaccines may need to be updated periodically to avoid potential loss of clinical efficacy.

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PARASITOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR SEARCH FOR LEISHMANIA NATURAL INFECTION IN PHLEBOTOMINE SAND FLIES IN PERI-URBAN SITES OF AN ARGENTINEAN AREA ENDEMIC FOR TEGUMENTARY LEISHMANIASIS

Acta Tropica ◽

10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106064 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 106064

Author(s):

María Cristina Almazán ◽

Griselda Noemí Copa ◽

José Fernando Gil ◽

Inés López Quiroga ◽

Melisa Evangelina Díaz Fernández ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Natural Infection ◽

Sand Flies ◽

Phlebotomine Sand Flies ◽

Tegumentary Leishmaniasis ◽

Urban Sites

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Bionomics of phlebotomine sand flies species (Diptera: Psychodidae) and their natural infection with Leishmania and Crithidia in Fars province, southern Iran

Journal of Parasitic Diseases ◽

10.1007/s12639-018-1027-6 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 42 (4) ◽

pp. 511-518 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Mohsen Kalantari ◽

Mohammad Hossein Motazedian ◽

Qasem Asgari ◽

Zahra Soltani ◽

Aboozar Soltani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Natural Infection ◽

Fars Province ◽

Sand Flies ◽

Phlebotomine Sand Flies ◽

Southern Iran

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No Evidence of rVSV-Ebola Virus Vaccine Replication or Dissemination in the Sand Fly Phlebotomus papatasi

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene ◽

10.4269/ajtmh.20-0951 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andrew D. Haddow ◽

Tobin E. Rowland ◽

Sarah L. Norris ◽

Thomas R. Sprague ◽

Jorge O. Lopez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vesicular Stomatitis Virus ◽

Ebola Virus ◽

The Body ◽

Sand Fly ◽

Sand Flies ◽

Phlebotomus Papatasi ◽

Artificial Blood ◽

Far North ◽

Distribution Ranges ◽

Vesicular Stomatitis

Following vaccination with the live attenuated, recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus Indiana serotype Ebola virus (rVSV-EBOV) vaccine, persons may exhibit a transient vaccine-associated viremia. To investigate the potential for Old World sand flies to transmit this vaccine following feeding on a viremic person, we fed laboratory-reared Phlebotomus papatasi an artificial blood meal containing 7.2 log10 plaque-forming units of rVSV-EBOV. Replication or dissemination was not detected in the body or legs of any P. papatasi collected at seven (n = 75) or 15 (n = 75) days post-feed. These results indicate a low potential for rVSV-EBOV to replicate and disseminate in P. papatasi, a species whose geographic distribution ranges from Morocco to southwest Asia and as far north as southern Europe.

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