First Report of Leishmania infantum in a Captive Panther from Pakistan
First Report of Leishmania infantum in a Captive Panther from Pakistan
Wafa Akram1, Shahan Azeem2, Shafqat Shabir1, Haroon Akbar1*, Warda Gill3 and Muhammad Imran Rashid1*
ABSTRACT
Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected zoonotic protozoal disease caused by Leishmania infantum and Leishmania donovani that is transmitted by sandflies (Phlebotamine flies). In November 2020, a case of leishmaniasis was diagnosed in a captive tiger through microscopy and L. infantum was confirmed by PCR and sequencing analysis. DNA sequencing of the amplicon revealed close homology with Leishmania sequences available in GenBank. Alignments and phylogenetic analyses of the Leishmania infantum from a tiger in Pakistan indicated 94-100 % identity with Leishmania from animals and 98.8-100% with Leishmania from humans origins suggesting the need for screening of animals before transporting, and of humans before taking care of captive animals, in order to prevent transboundary spread of Leishmania.
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