Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Aug 6:8:702687.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.702687. eCollection 2021.

Leishmaniosis in Rodents Caused by Leishmania infantum: A Review of Studies in the Mediterranean Area

M Magdalena Alcover  1 , M Cristina Riera  1 , Roser Fisa  1
Affiliations
Review

Leishmaniosis in Rodents Caused by Leishmania infantum: A Review of Studies in the Mediterranean Area

M Magdalena Alcover et al. Front Vet Sci. .

Abstract

Leishmaniosis infection begins when a phlebotomine sand fly vector inoculates pathogenic protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania into a mammalian host. In the case of Leishmania infantum, the domestic dog is considered to be the main parasite reservoir, and canine leishmaniosis (CanL) has a high mortality rate in untreated dogs. Hundreds of cases of human leishmaniosis (HL) are reported in the world each year, the incidence in Europe being relatively low. Leishmaniosis control is primarily focused on the dog, combining methods that prevent sand fly bites and boost host resistance to infection. However, these measures are only partially effective and new solutions need to be found. One of the main factors limiting CanL and HL control is the existence of a sylvatic Leishmania transmission cycle that interacts with the domestic cycle maintained by dogs. It is suspected that the main reservoir of infection in wildlife are rodents, whose expansion and rapid population growth worldwide is increasing the risk of human and zoonotic pathogen transfer. The aim of this review is therefore to analyze reports in the literature that may shed light on the potential role of rodents in the leishmaniosis transmission cycle in the Mediterranean area. Following the general methodology recommended for reviews, six databases (Google Scholar, Ovid, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science) were explored for the period January 1995 to December 2020. The results extracted from 39 publications that met the established inclusion criteria were analyzed. It was found that 23 species of rodents have been studied in nine countries of the Mediterranean basin. Of the 3,643 specimens studied, 302 tested positive for L. infantum infection by serology, microscopy and/or molecular techniques.

Keywords: Leishmania infantum; Mediterranean basin; reservoir; rodentia; wildlife; zoonosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The handling editor declared a shared affiliation with the authors MA, MR, and RF at time of review.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Percentage of each type of study (review, clinical or epidemiological); (B) percentage of studies published in each country; (C) percentage of studies published in each geographical area.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Global prevalence of infection in rodents depending on the geographical area.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Captured rodents. (B) Infected rodents. (C) Prevalence of infection among different rodent families.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hotez PJ, Gurwith M. Europe's neglected infections of poverty. Int J Infect Dis. (2011) 15:e611–9. 10.1016/j.ijid.2011.05.006 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alvar J, Vélez ID, Bern C, Herrero M, Desjeux P, Cano J, et al. . Leishmaniasis worldwide and global estimates of its incidence. PLoS ONE. (2012) 7:e35671. 10.1371/journal.pone.0035671 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Antoniou M, Gramiccia M, Molina R, Dvorak V, Volf P. The role of indigenous phlebotomine sandflies and mammals in the spreading of leishmaniasis agents in the Mediterranean region. Euro Surveill. (2013) 18:20540. 10.2807/1560-7917.ES2013.18.30.20540 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ready PD. Leishmaniasis emergence in Europe. Euro Surveill. (2010) 15:19505. 10.2807/ese.15.10.19505-en - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mary Ch, Faraut F, Lascombe L, Dumon H. Quantification of Leishmania infantum DNA by a real-time PCR assay with high sensitivity. J Clin Microbiol. (2004) 42:5249–55. 10.1128/JCM.42.11.5249-5255.2004 - DOI - PMC - PubMed