RT Journal Article
T1 First detection of Leishmania infantum in common urban bats Pipistrellus pipistrellus in Europe
A1 Azami Conesa, Iris
A1 Martínez-Díaz, Rafael A
A1 González González, Fernando
A1 Gómez Muñoz, María Teresa
AB Leishmania infantum is a protozoan causing leishmaniasis in humans and in dogs, among other animals, which is an endemic disease in the Mediterranean basin. In recent years, the role of wildlife as a possible reservoir of the disease was analyzed and several species of carnivores were reported to have the highest infection rates, with foxes and wolves being the more widely studied species; the role of rabbits and hares as reservoirs of leishmaniasis has also been described. In addition, several studies highlighted the role of bats as suitable hosts for Leishmania species (L. braziliensis, L. major, L. mexicana, and L. tropica) in South and Central America and Africa, but no Leishmania spp. infection in Chiroptera has been reported in Europe. In this study, samples from spleen, hair, and blood were analyzed to detect L. infantum DNA in bats from the Community of Madrid (Spain). Infection by L. infantum was detected in 59.2% of the bats studied (n = 16/27), with the spleen being selected as the site for detection, yielding 14/16 positive results (87.5% sensitivity), followed by hair (n = 7/16) and blood (n = 6/16). In two animals, samples from all three anatomical sites tested positive (7.4% of the total animals), while in four animals the spleen and hair samples tested positive (14.8%), in one animal the blood and hair samples tested positive (3.7%), and in another animal the blood sample only tested positive (3.7%). This is the first report of L. infantum detection in the common urban bat (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) in Europe.
PB Elsevier
SN 0034-5288
YR 2020
FD 2020
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/134754
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/134754
LA eng
NO Azami-Conesa, I., Martínez-Díaz, R. A., González, F., & Gómez-Muñoz, M. T. (2020). First detection of Leishmania infantum in common urban bats Pipistrellus pipistrellus in Europe. Research in veterinary science, 132, 172–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2020.06.019
NO Universidad Complutense de Madrid
DS Docta Complutense
RD 10 jun 2026