Molecular survey of Leishmania spp. in skin samples of capybaras  (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) from different areas of Brazil

Agnes Antônia Sampaio  Pereira; Hector Ribeiro  Benatti; Carina Carvalho  Mori; Letícia Gracielle Tôrres de Miranda  Estevam; Célia Maria Ferreira  Gontijo; Hermes Ribeiro  Luz; Marcelo Bahia  Labruna; Gustavo Fontes Paz

Molecular survey of Leishmania spp. in skin samples of capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) from different areas of Brazil

2022

Leishmaniases comprise a spectrum of diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania, with some species of rodents being incriminated as reservoirs. The capybara is the largest extant rodent species in the world and is widely distributed in South America. The occurrence of infection by Leishmania spp. was investigated in capybaras captured in Brazil during 2015–2019 from established populations in five highly anthropic areas of the state of São Paulo and two natural areas of the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. A total of 186 individuals were captured and subjected to abdominal skin biopsy. All skin samples were Leishmania kDNA-negative, suggesting that capybaras have no role in the transmission cycles of Leishmania species in the studied areas despite the well-known role of other rodents in the life cycle of Leishmania spp.

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