Flebotomos de las Islas Canarias (España)

La ausencla de datos acerca de la fauna de Phlebotominae en el archiplelago Canario, nos ha llevado B realizar iiltimnmente varlos muestreos en las lslas de Oran Canaria y Tenerlfe. Para los mencionados muestreos se emple6 siempre la técnica del papel adhesivo. En Oran Canaria. de un total de €dete estaciones, s610 hubo capturas en una de ellas En Tenerife se recolectaron ejemplares en un total de slete estaciones pero el numero de capturas fue muy bajo. Los caracteres de los ejemplares machos y hembras capturados son : Macho: Pompa genltal en el tercer Segmento abdominal. Filamentos genitales muy largos, que sobrepasan las valvas del pene. Estas son troncoc6nicas con prolongaci6n basa1 muy desarrollada de aspecto semilunar. El estilo (con cinco esplnasi, coxito y l6bulo lateral no presentan particularidad notable. Hembra: Faringe con tres zonas definidas: la posterior, más ancha que las dos anteriores, ocupa un tercio de esta estructura Espermateca tubullforme con paredes lisas y conductos espermáticos extremadamente largos; el cuerpo. ligeramente más ancho que los conductos, se continua en un cuello cuyo diámetro es similar al de la cabeza, la cual esta rodeada de una corona de pelos. Este conjunto de caracteres confieren a los eiemplares procedentes de las islas Canarias peculiaridades propia

Giardiasis en dos especies de múridos silvestres: Rattus rattus y R. norvegicus

Se realizó un estudio sobre la epidemiología de Ciardia muris en la provincia de Granada, y en una población total de 147 ratas silvestres pertenecientes a las especies Rattus rattus y R. norvegicus, así como un estudio biométrico del parásito. El índice de parasitación encontrado fue del 25.17 % en toda la población

Giardiasis en dos especies de múridos silvestres: Rattus rattus y R. norvegicus

Se realizó un estudio sobre la epidemiología de Ciardia muris en la provincia de Granada, y en una población total de 147 ratas silvestres pertenecientes a las especies Rattus rattus y R. norvegicus, así como un estudio biométrico del parásito. El índice de parasitación encontrado fue del 25.17 % en toda la población

La Leishmaniosis en la provincia de Granada: estudio de la enzootia canina

Con el fin de determinar el papel que desempeña el perro en la epidemiología de la Leishmaniosis en la provincia de Granada hemos realizado un estudio de la sintomatología, índice de parasitación y distribución de esta enfermedad en dicho animal. En cuanto a la sintomatología, algunos perros presentaban el cuadro clínico característico de la enfermedad, pero otros, sin embargo, presentaban unos síntomas totalmente inespecíficos y, en consecuencia, fácil de confundir con otras enfermedades. La realización de una encuesta al azar en 1.503 perros proporciona un índice de parasitación del 8,84%, lo que nos da una idea de la importancia de la enfermedad. Además, se puede observar que, aunque los mayores índices de parasitación se encuentran en las comarcas tradicionalmente consideradas endémicas (La Costa y Las Alpujarras), la enfermedad está ampliamente esparcida por toda la provincia y con unos índices dignos de tener en cuenta. En consecuencia, habría que considerar como zona endémica de leishmaniosis a toda la provincia, y no se debería restringir este término solamente a la región costero-alpujarreña, tal y como ha venido sucediendo

Visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum in a Spanish patient in Argentina: What is the origin of the infection? Case report

BACKGROUND: The question "Where have you been?" is a common one asked by doctors in Northern Europe and America when faced with clinical symptoms not typical of their country. This question must also arise in the clinics of developing countries in which non-autochthonous cases such as the one described here can appear. Important outbreaks of Leishmania infantum have been recorded in the last decade in several Latin American countries but its presence has not yet been recorded in Argentina. We report the first case of visceral leishmaniasis owing to L. infantum in this country. CASE PRESENTATION: A 71-year-old Spanish woman who has been living in Mendoza, Argentina, during the last 40 years presented with a history of high fever and shivering, anemia, leukopenia and splenomegaly over two years. Argentinian doctors did not suspect visceral leishmaniasis even when the histological analysis revealed the presence of "intracytoplasmatic spheroid particles compatible with fungal or parasitic infection". After a serious deterioration in her health, she was taken to Spain where she was evaluated and visceral leishmaniasis was established. Specific identification of the parasite was done by PCR-ELISA, isoenzyme electrophoresis and RAPD-PCR. CONCLUSION: We would like to point out that: i) cases such as the one described here, which appear in non-endemic areas, can pass unnoticed by the clinical physician. ii) in countries in which these introduced cases reside, in-depth parasitological studies are required into vectors and possible reservoirs to rule out the rare case of local infection and, once infection has taken place, to ensure that this does not spread by anthroponotic transmission or a competent reservoir

Phlebotomine sand fly survey in the focus of leishmaniasis in Madrid, Spain (2012-2014): seasonal dynamics, Leishmania infantum infection rates and blood meal preferences

BACKGROUND: An unusual increase of human leishmaniasis cases due to Leishmania infantum is occurring in an urban area of southwestern Madrid, Spain, since 2010. Entomological surveys have shown that Phlebotomus perniciosus is the only potential vector. Direct xenodiagnosis in hares (Lepus granatensis) and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) collected in the focus area proved that they can transmit parasites to colonized P. perniciosus. Isolates were characterized as L. infantum. The aim of the present work was to conduct a comprehensive study of sand flies in the outbreak area, with special emphasis on P. perniciosus. METHODS: Entomological surveys were done from June to October 2012-2014 in 4 stations located close to the affected area. Twenty sticky traps (ST) and two CDC light traps (LT) were monthly placed during two consecutive days in every station. LT were replaced every morning. Sand fly infection rates were determined by dissecting females collected with LT. Molecular procedures applied to study blood meal preferences and to detect L. infantum were performed for a better understanding of the epidemiology of the outbreak. RESULTS: A total of 45,127 specimens belonging to 4 sand fly species were collected: P. perniciosus (75.34%), Sergentomyia minuta (24.65%), Phlebotomus sergenti (0.005%) and Phlebotomus papatasi (0.005%). No Phlebotomus ariasi were captured. From 3203 P. perniciosus female dissected, 117 were infected with flagellates (3.7%). Furthermore, 13.31% and 7.78% of blood-fed and unfed female sand flies, respectively, were found infected with L. infantum by PCR. The highest rates of infected P. perniciosus were detected at the end of the transmission periods. Regarding to blood meal preferences, hares and rabbits were preferred, although human, cat and dog blood were also found. CONCLUSIONS: This entomological study highlights the exceptional nature of the Leishmania outbreak occurring in southwestern Madrid, Spain. It is confirmed that P. perniciosus is the only vector in the affected area, with high densities and infection rates. Rabbits and hares were the main blood meal sources of this species. These results reinforce the need for an extensive and permanent surveillance in this region, and others of similar characteristics, in order to control the vector and regulate the populations of wild reservoirs.This study was partially sponsored and funded by: Dirección General de Salud Pública, Consejería de Sanidad, Comunidad de Madrid; Colegio de Veterinarios de Madrid; Colegio de Biólogos de Madrid and EU grant FP7-261504 EDENext (http://www.edenext.eu).S