The perfect storm: Cutaneous leishmaniasis in troops deployed in the Atlantic forest of Argentina

• Published in: Zoonoses and public health Vol. 71; no. 3; pp. 267 - 273
• Main Authors: Lamattina, Daniela, Couto, Esteban Manuel, Moya, Sofía Lorian, Giuliani, Magalí Gabriela, Cortés, Micaela, Vadell, María Victoria, Salomón, Oscar Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2024
• Subjects: American cutaneous leishmaniasis; Animals; Argentina - epidemiology; Brazil - epidemiology; Cutaneous leishmaniasis; DNA; Environmental health; Epidemiology; Exposure; exposure risk; Forests; Gene sequencing; hotspot; Hsp70 protein; Humans; Insect Vectors - parasitology; Intervention; Leishmania; Leishmania - genetics; Leishmania braziliensis - genetics; Leishmaniasis - veterinary; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - epidemiology; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - parasitology; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - veterinary; Military personnel; National parks; Nucleotide sequence; Occupational exposure; outbreak; Parasites; Parasitic diseases; Pathology; PCR; Pest outbreaks; Psychodidae - parasitology; Public health; reservoirs; Rodents; Storms; Vector-borne diseases; Vectors; Wildlife management; Workers; Brazil; Argentina; reservoirs; outbreak; vectors; American cutaneous leishmaniasis; exposure risk; hotspot
• ISSN: 1863-1959; 1863-2378
• DOI: 10.1111/zph.13115

American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is the most prevalent form of leishmaniasis, associated with an ulcerative and stigmatizing mucocutaneous pathology. This study assessed the incidence of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis in members of the Argentine Army who were exposed to sandfly bites in Iguazú National Park (INP), northeastern Argentina, during an outbreak of ACL in 2019, and the presence of Leishmania in rodents, opossums and phlebotomine sandflies collected in the area of exposure. Samples from military personnel, wild animals and phlebotomine sandflies were analysed. A total of 20 (40%) patients among the Army personnel and two Akodon montensis rodents (11%) were positive for the presence of Leishmania sp. genes by PCR, while Nyssomyia whitmani and Migonemyia migonei, competent vectors of Leishmania, were also found at the same site. Sequences of hsp70 DNA fragments obtained from human samples confirmed the identity of L. (V.) braziliensis. The risk to which military personnel carrying out activities in the forest are exposed is highlighted, and this risk extends to any worker and visitor who circulates without protection in the INP, coming into contact with transmission “hot spots” due to the concentration of vectors, reservoirs and/or parasites.