Evidence of Leishmania infantum infection in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in a natural area in Madrid, Spain
Investigation article published in BioMed Research International (Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology)
March 3rd, 2014
Leishmaniasis is one of most important neglected zoonosis and remains endemic in at least 88 developing countries in the world. In addition, anthropogenic environmental changes in urban areas are leading to its emergency world-wide. Zoonotic leishmaniasis control might only be achieved by an integrated approach targeting both the human host and the animal reservoirs, which in certain sylvatic cycles are yet to be identified. Recently, hares have been pointed out as competent reservoirs of Leishmania infantum in Spain, but the role of other lagomorphs has not been clarified. Here, 69 rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from a natural area in Madrid in which a high density was present were analyzed using indirect (immunofluorescence antibody test, IFAT) and direct (PCR, culture) techniques. Fifty-seven (82.6%) of the animals were positive to at least one technique, with IFAT yielding the highest proportion of positive samples. L. infantum was isolated in 13% animals demonstrating the occurrence of infection in this setting. Our results suggest that rabbits could play a role of competent reservoir of L. infantum and demonstrate that the prevalence of infection is high in the analyzed area
Garcia N., Moreno I., Alvarez J., de la Cruz ML., Navarro A., Perez-Sancho M., Garcia-Seco T., Rodriguez-Bertos A., Conty ML., Torano A., Prieto A., Dominguez L. and Dominguez M.
 | Servicio de Zoonosis Emergentes, de Baja Prevalencia y Agresivos Biológicos (NED). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
 | Servicio de Inmunología. Centro Nacional de Microbiología (CNM). Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII). |
| Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
 | Madrid Salud. Ayuntamiento de Madrid. |
 | Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS). Universidad Complutense (UCM). Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM). Universidad de Alcalá (UAH). Salud Madrid. Comunidad de Madrid. |
