1
|
Kassahun A, Sadlova J, Dvorak V, Kostalova T, Rohousova I, Frynta D, Aghova T, Yasur-Landau D, Lemma W, Hailu A, Baneth G, Warburg A, Volf P, Votypka J. Detection of Leishmania donovani and L. tropica in Ethiopian wild rodents. Acta Trop 2015; 145:39-44. [PMID: 25700710 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2015.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2014] [Revised: 02/03/2015] [Accepted: 02/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Human visceral (VL, also known as Kala-azar) and cutaneous (CL) leishmaniasis are important infectious diseases affecting countries in East Africa that remain endemic in several regions of Ethiopia. The transmission and epidemiology of the disease is complicated due to the complex life cycle of the parasites and the involvement of various Leishmania spp., sand fly vectors, and reservoir animals besides human hosts. Particularly in East Africa, the role of animals as reservoirs for human VL remains unclear. Isolation of Leishmania donovani parasites from naturally infected rodents has been reported in several endemic countries; however, the status of rodents as reservoirs in Ethiopia remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated natural Leishmania infections in rodents. Animals were trapped in 41 localities of endemic and non-endemic areas in eight geographical regions of Ethiopia and DNA was isolated from spleens of 586 rodents belonging to 21 genera and 38 species. Leishmania infection was evaluated by real-time PCR of kinetoplast (k)DNA and confirmed by sequencing of the PCR products. Subsequently, parasite species identification was confirmed by PCR and DNA sequencing of the 18S ribosomal RNA internal transcribed spacer one (ITS1) gene. Out of fifty (8.2%) rodent specimens positive for Leishmania kDNA-PCR and sequencing, 10 were subsequently identified by sequencing of the ITS1 showing that five belonged to the L. donovani complex and five to L. tropica. Forty nine kDNA-positive rodents were found in the endemic localities of southern and eastern Ethiopia while only one was identified from northwestern Ethiopia. Moreover, all the ten ITS1-positive rodents were captured in areas where human leishmaniasis cases have been reported and potential sand fly vectors occur. Our findings suggest the eco-epidemiological importance of rodents in these foci of leishmaniasis and indicate that rodents are likely to play a role in the transmission of leishmaniasis in Ethiopia, possibly as reservoir hosts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aysheshm Kassahun
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicna 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Jovana Sadlova
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicna 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Vit Dvorak
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicna 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Tatiana Kostalova
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicna 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Iva Rohousova
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicna 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Daniel Frynta
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicna 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Tatiana Aghova
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 675 02 Studenec 122, Czech Republic.
| | - Daniel Yasur-Landau
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Hebrew University, P.O. Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
| | - Wessenseged Lemma
- Department of Zoological Science, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
| | - Asrat Hailu
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 9086, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
| | - Gad Baneth
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Hebrew University, P.O. Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
| | - Alon Warburg
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, The Kuvin Centre for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, The Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
| | - Petr Volf
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicna 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Jan Votypka
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicna 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Yared S, Deribe K, Gebreselassie A, Lemma W, Akililu E, Kirstein OD, Balkew M, Warburg A, Gebre-Michael T, Hailu A. Risk factors of visceral leishmaniasis: a case control study in north-western Ethiopia. Parasit Vectors 2014; 7:470. [PMID: 25312308 PMCID: PMC4205297 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-014-0470-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2014] [Accepted: 10/01/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL, also called ‘’kala-azar”), is a life threatening neglected tropical infectious disease which mainly affects the poorest of the poor. VL is prevalent in Ethiopia particularly in the northwest of the country. Understanding the risk factors of VL infection helps in its prevention and control. The aim of the present study was to identify the factors associated with VL. Methods A case–control study was carried out during the period of January-July 2013 in northwest Ethiopia. Cases and controls were diagnosed using clinical presentation, the rk39 rapid diagnostic test and Direct Agglutination Test (DAT). A total of 283 (84.8% males versus 15.2% females) participants were interviewed. 90 cases and 193 controls were involved, matched by age, sex and geographical location with a ratio of 1:2 (case: controls). Univariate and backward multivariate conditional logistic regression were used to identify risk factors of VL. Results Elevated odds of VL was associated with goat ownership (OR = 6.4; 95%: confidence interval [Cl]: 1.5-28.4), living in houses with cracked wall (OR = 6.4; 95% Cl: 1.6-25.6), increased family size (OR = 1.3; 95% Cl: 1.0-1.8) and the number of days spent in the farm field (OR = 1.1; 95% Cl: 1.0-1.2). However, daily individual activities around the home and farm fields, mainly sleeping on a bed (OR = 0.2; 95%: Cl 0.03-0.9), sleeping outside the house under a bed net (OR = 0.1; 95% Cl: 0.02-0.36)] and smoking plant parts in the house during the night time (OR = 0.1; 95% Cl: 0.01-0.6) were associated with decreased odds of being VL case. Conclusion Our findings showed that use of bed net and smoke could be helpful for the prevention of VL in the area particularly among individuals who spend most of their time in the farm. VL control effort could be focused on improving housing conditions, such as sealing cracks and crevices inside and outside houses. Further research is warranted to elucidate the role of goats in the transmission of L. donovani, assess the impact of bed nets and the role of the traditional practice of smoking plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Solomon Yared
- Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. .,Department of Biology, College of Natural Science, Jigjiga University, Jigjiga, Ethiopia.
| | - Kebede Deribe
- Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Falmer, Brighton, UK. .,School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
| | - Araya Gebreselassie
- Department of Biology, College of Natural Science, Jigjiga University, Jigjiga, Ethiopia. .,School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
| | - Wessenseged Lemma
- Department of Zoological Science, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
| | - Essayas Akililu
- Department of Zoological Science, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
| | - Oscar D Kirstein
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The Institute of Medical Research Israel-Canada The Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Meshesha Balkew
- Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
| | - Alon Warburg
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The Institute of Medical Research Israel-Canada The Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Teshome Gebre-Michael
- Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
| | - Asrat Hailu
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
| |
Collapse
|