The role of sloths and anteaters as Leishmania spp. reservoirs: a review and a newly described natural infection of Leishmania mexicana in the northern anteater

• Published in: Parasitology research (1987) Vol. 118; no. 4; pp. 1095 - 1101
• Main Authors: Muñoz-García, Claudia I., Sánchez-Montes, Sokani, Villanueva-García, Claudia, Romero-Callejas, Evangelina, Díaz-López, Hilda M., Gordillo-Chávez, Elías J., Martínez-Carrasco, Carlos, Berriatua, Eduardo, Rendón-Franco, Emilio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-04-2019; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Anteaters; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Bradypus variegatus; Choloepus hoffmanni; Disease Reservoirs - parasitology; Distribution; DNA sequencing; DNA, Protozoan - genetics; Immunology; Infections; Leishmania; Leishmania mexicana - genetics; Leishmania mexicana - isolation & purification; Leishmaniasis; Leishmaniasis - epidemiology; Leishmaniasis - veterinary; Literature reviews; Medical Microbiology; Mexico - epidemiology; Microbiology; Phylogeny; Pilosa; Protozoa; Protozoology - Review; Sloths; Sloths - parasitology; Species; Tamandua mexicana; Xenarthra - parasitology; Mexico; Xenarthra; Mexico; Leishmaniasis; Edentata; Myrmecophaga; Tamandua mexicana
• ISSN: 0932-0113; 1432-1955
• DOI: 10.1007/s00436-019-06253-6

For years, mammals of the order Pilosa have been considered
Leishmania
reservoirs. But while most studies have focused on sloth species, anteaters have been overlooked, and in many
Leishmania
endemic countries like Mexico, no studies have been carried out. The aims of this work were to identify the presence of
Leishmania
spp. in tissue samples from road-killed northern tamanduas (
Tamandua mexicana
), using PCR amplification and sequencing of ITS1 DNA, and to discuss the role of Pilosa mammals as reservoirs of
Leishmania
based on available scientific records. This is the first study that identifies
Leishmania
in
T. mexicana
, from 1 of 16 individuals analyzed, so the estimated prevalence (CI 95%) of infection was 6.3% (0.3–27.2). Amplified sequence exhibited a 98.9% (727/735) similarity with
L. mexicana
, and phylogenetic analysis grouped the species in the
L. mexicana
-
amazonensis
cluster. The literature review revealed 241 cases of
Leishmania
spp. infection among 1219 Pilosa mammals evaluated, with prevalence between studies ranging from 3.5% in the brown-throated three-toed sloth (
Bradypus variegatus
) to 78% in the Hoffman’s two-toed sloth (
Choloepus hoffmanni
). Current scientific information indicates that
C. hoffmanni
sloths are reservoirs of
Leishmania
, and further studies are needed in order to clarify if other Pilosa species play a role in
Leishmania
transmission.