Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Reviewing the trajectory of American visceral leishmaniasis in Brazilian Amazon: from Evandro Chagas to the current days

Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Leishmanioses Prof. Dr. Ralph Lainson. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil / Universidade Federal do Pará. Núcleo de Medicina Tropical. Belém, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Leishmanioses Prof. Dr. Ralph Lainson. Ananindeua, PA, BrasiMinistério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Leishmanioses Prof. Dr. Ralph Lainson. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Leishmanioses Prof. Dr. Ralph Lainson. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Leishmanioses Prof. Dr. Ralph Lainson. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.O presente estudo reviu a trajetória da leishmaniose visceral americana (LVA) na Amazônia, Brasil, desde os tempos do dr. Evandro Chagas, fundador do Instituto de Pathologia Experimental do Norte, em 1936, o qual, após a morte trágica do seu patrono, em 1940, passou a chamar-se Instituto Evandro Chagas até os dias atuais, objetivando melhor visibilidade a cerca do legado médico-científico deixado pelo ilustre personagem, além de descrever os caminhos que fizeram essa endemia sair do anonimato epidemiológico cinco décadas atrás, para surgir como um dos maiores agravos parasitários no início do século atual. Nesse contexto, Chagas e seus colaboradores deixaram três contribuições marcantes: i) descreveram a espécie parasitária responsável pela LVA, a Leishmania chagasi (= Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi); ii) incriminaram a espécie flebotomínica Phlebotomus longipalpis como o provável vetor da LVA; e iii) postularam que a origem da doença humana deveria estar em algum animal silvestre. A situação da LVA na Amazônia brasileira não mudou muito nas décadas seguintes, porém, a partir dos anos 1980, assumiu um perfil novo, reaparecendo com maior frequência nos focos rurais e em zonas suburbanas e urbanas de cidades de médio porte, como Santarém, no Estado do Pará. Nas duas últimas décadas, o processo de expansão intensificou-se face aos fatores ambiental (desflorestamento), socioeconômico e a ocupação desordenada na periferia das cidades, onde a presença do vetor (Lutzomyia longipalpis) no peridomicílio humano, e do cão doméstico altamente suscetível à infecção, facilitaram sua disseminação. Hoje, a LVA já alcança a Região Metropolitana de Belém (ilha de Cotijuba), capital do Pará.This study reviewed the trajectory of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) in Brazilian Amazon, since that time of Dr. Evandro Chagas, who founded the Instituto de Pathologia Experimental do Norte, in 1936, which following the tragic death of its patron, in 1940, was renamed Instituto Evandro Chagas till the actual days, aiming the best visibility on the medical-scientific legacy left by that distinguished person, as well as trying to describe the ways that made AVL leaves the epidemiologic anonymity five decades ago for arising as one of greatest parasitic disease at the beginning of this century. In this context, Chagas et al have left three marked contributions: i) described a new parasitic species responsible for AVL, Leishmania chagasi; ii) incriminated the phlebotomine species Phlebotomus longipalpis as the likely vector of AVL; and iii) postulated that the human disease origin should be in any forest animal. The AVL situation in Brazilian Amazon has not changed in the following decades, however, in the early 1980s the disease resurfaced with a greater frequency in rural foci and in the suburban and urban areas of medium-size cities as Santarém, Pará State. In the last two decades, the expansive process increased due to the deforestation, socio-economic factor and unorganized occupation in the outskirts of cities, where the presence of Lutzomyia longipalpis in the peridomiciliar human area and the domestic dog highly susceptible to infection have facilitated its dissemination. Actually, AVL has already arrived in the Metropolitan Region of Belém (Cotijuba island), capital of Pará

First report on feline leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis in Amazonian Brazil

Ministério da Saúde; Iowa Energy CenteMinistério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil / Universidade Federal do Pará. Núcleo de Medicina Tropical. Belém, PA, Brazil.In the present study, we reported the natural infection by Leishmania sp. in a domestic cat, in which the amastigote forms of the parasite were observed within a lesion on its ear-tip. Fragment of the lesion was obtained and cultured in NNN medium, and PCR-RFLP analysis of the isolated sample was performed, which revealed that the profile was compatible with Leishmania (L.) amazonensis. This is the first proven case of a cat infected by L. (L.) amazonensis reported in Belém city, Pará state, northern Brazil

Prevalence and incidence of canine visceral leishmaniasis and its clinical–immunological features in an endemic area of the Brazilian Amazon

Evandro Chagas Institute (Ministry of Health, Brazil) and Nucleus of Tropical Medicine (Federal University of Pará State, Brazil)Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde e Ambiente. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Seção de Manejo de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde e Ambiente. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde e Ambiente. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde e Ambiente. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde e Ambiente. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.São Paulo University. Medical School. Pathology Department. São Paulo, SP, Brazil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde e Ambiente. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil / Federal University of Pará. Tropical Medicine Nucleus. Postgraduate Program in Tropical Diseases. Belém, PA, Brazil.Background: A cohort study for 2 years period analysed the prevalence, incidence and clinical-immunological features of canine Leishmania (L.) chagasi-infection in 316 mongrel dogs in a visceral leishmaniasis-endemic area in Pará State, Brazil. Objective/methods: Diagnosis of infection was performed by the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT-IgG), the leishmanin skin test (LST) and a parasite search (from the popliteal lymph node aspiration) at the beginning of the study and at 6, 12 and 24 months intervals. Results: IFAT/LST revealed three immune profiles of infection: (I) IFAT(+) /LST(-) (81), (II) IFAT(-) /LST(+) (17) and (III) IFAT(+) /LST(+) (13). Prevalence of profiles I, II and III were 25.6, 5.4 and 4.1%, and an overall prevalence 35.1%. Incidence of profiles I, II and III were 5.4, 0.3 and 0.0%, and an overall incidence 5.7% dogs per month. Incidence at the age ranges <1 year, ≥1 year, <7 years and ≥7 years evidenced a highest rate in the age range <1 year (6.6% dogs per month). Parasitological diagnosis was positive in 19% dogs at the prevalence (85.7% profile I), and in 11% at the incidence (100% profile I). The clinical picture of 179 infected dogs showed 145 (81%) of profile I (82% subclinical); 21 (11.7%) of profile II (100% subclinical); and 13 (7.3%) of profile III (84.6% subclinical). Conversion from subclinical to sick dogs was higher (p < 0.05) in profile I (40.2%) than in profiles II (5.8%) and III (9%). Immunological conversion showed that only 3.2% of profile I dogs (prevalence) converted to LST(+) (two at the end of the first 6 months and 1 after 24 months), while 82.3% of profile II dogs converted to IFAT(+) (11 in the first 6 months, whereas three after 12 months). A 100% death rate was observed in dogs from profile I alone. Conclusion: These results reinforce the need of adopting preventive strategies against CVL as early as in the first semester of the dog's life

Further insights into the eco-epidemiology of American cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Belem metropolitan region, Pará State, Brazil

This research was financially supported by the Instituto Evandro Chagas (Brazilian Ministry of Health) and by the Núcleo de Medicina Tropical (Universidade Federal do Pará, Brasil). Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (editals no.1/2017- PIBIC/IEC/CNPq 2017-2018 and no.1/2016-PIBIC/IEC/CNPq 2016-2017)Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil / Universidade Federal do Pará. Núcleo de Medicina Tropical. Belém, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Introduction: In the Belém Metropolitan Region (BMR), Pará State, Brazil, American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is endemic; however, very little is known regarding its causative agents. Therefore, we used our standard diagnostic approach combined with an RNA polymerase II largest subunit (RNAPOIILS)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) to identify Leishmania spp. ACL agents in this region. Methods: Thirty-two Leishmania spp. isolates from patients with ACL in the BMR during 1995-2018 were analyzed. Leishmania spp. DNA samples were amplified using the primers RPOR2/RPOF2, and the 615-bp PCR products were subjected to enzymatic digestion using TspRI and HgaI endonucleases. Results: ACL etiological agents in the BMR comprised Leishmania (Viannia) lindenbergi (43.7%) followed by Leishmania (Viannia) lainsoni (34.4%), Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis (12.5%), and Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis (9.4%). Conclusions: To our knowledge, the results of the study revealed for the first time that L. (V.) lindenbergi and L. (V.) lainsoni are the main ACL agents in BMR

Further evidence associating IgG1, but not IgG2, with susceptibility to canine visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi-infection

This research was supported by the Evandro Chagas Institute (Ministry of Health, Brazil) and Nucleus of Tropical Medicine (Federal University of Pará State, Brazil).Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.University São Paulo. Medical School of São Paulo. Pathology Department. São Paulo, SP, Brazil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil / Federal University of Pará. Tropical Medicine Nucleus. Belém, PA, Brazil.We present here a cross-sectional study analyzing the IgG1 and IgG2 immune responses to natural canine Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi-infection and their relationships with delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) in 50 mongrel dogs with previous positive serodiagnoses (IFAT-IgG) (56% with subclinical status [= apparently healthy] and 44% clinically sick), living in endemic areas for visceral leishmaniasis in the Brazilian Amazon. IgG1 and IgG2 responses were measured using commercial polyclonal antibodies in ELISA, while DTH was elicited by intradermal skin test using cultured promastigotes L. (L.) i. chagasi-antigen. Data analyses used Chi-square and Pearson's r coefficient (95% confidence interval). Regarding DTH and the clinical statuses of dogs, it was noted that 100% of the animals showing positive DTH (n = 8) were from the subclinical group, while 100% showing negative DTH were from the clinically sick group; higher IgG2 than IgG1 responses were observed in both clinical groups. However, when this comparison was made between the subclinical and sick groups, higher IgG1 responses were noted in the dogs from the sick rather than the subclinical group, while no differences were noted between the IgG2 responses in the dogs from both clinical groups. Additionally, we found lower IgG1 responses in dogs from the subclinical group showing positive DTH than in the dogs from the subclinical or sick groups with negative DTH; no differences were found between the IgG2 responses of these two clinical groups. These findings suggest that the IgG1, but not the IgG2, response is associated with susceptibility to canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL)

Urine qPCR diagnoses over the entire clinical-immunological spectrum of human Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi-infections in the Brazilian Amazon

Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.The clinical-immunological spectrum of human Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi-infections in the Brazilian Amazon has been defined using DTH/IFAT-IgG immune assays and the clinical statuses of infected individuals, revealing five profiles: three asymptomatic [Asymptomatic Infection (AI), Subclinical Resistant Infection (SRI), and Indeterminate Initial Infection (III)], and two symptomatic profiles [Subclinical Oligosymptomatic Infection (SOI) and Symptomatic Infection (SI = American visceral leishmaniasis/AVL)]. We evaluated the diagnostic potential of urine qPCR over the entire spectrum of infection. Resine Instagene Matrix® was used for DNA extraction from urinary sediment, with amplification carried out using SYBR® Green Taq with the RV1 and RV2 primers. We examined urine samples from 151 individuals from an endemic area of AVL in Pará State in the Brazilian Amazon, including: 91 (60.3%) with diagnoses of previous infections [13 (14.3%) sharing the AI profile, 13 (14.3%) with the SRI profile, 43 (47.2%) with III, 12 (13.2%) with SI (treated AVL), and 10 (11%) with SI (untreated AVL)]; sixty (39.7%) were DTH(-)/IFAT-IgG(-) (the uninfected group). The urine qPCR was positive in 61.5% of both the AI and SRI profiles, 65% of the III profile, 50% of treated AVL, 100% of untreated AVL, and 6.7% of the uninfected group. Those results confirmed the urine qPCR diagnosis in 100% of untreated AVL cases as well as in more than 60% of the cases with asymptomatic AI, SRI, and III profiles - indicating it as a promising tool for monitoring the evolution of human L. (L.) infantum chagasi-infections in endemic areas