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Infrequency of gross skin lesions among Panamanian forest mammals with cutaneous leishmaniasis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

Aristides Herrer  and
Howard A. Christensen
Aristides Herrer
Affiliation:
Gorgas Memorial Laboratory, Apartado 6991, Panamá 5, República de Panamá
Howard A. Christensen
Affiliation:
Gorgas Memorial Laboratory, Apartado 6991, Panamá 5, República de Panamá
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Extract

Natural leishmanial infections among feral mammals in the Republic of Panama were studied in relation to gross skin alterations. Three dermatotropic species of Leishmania, L. braziliensis, L. mexicana and L. hertigi, isolated from 230 sylvatic animals of 5 mammalian orders were involved. In 205 (89%) of the cases there were no gross skin alterations. Cryptic infections of all three leishmanial species among wild animals were confirmed by culture and hamster inoculation. This type of infection was always present in the sloths, Choloepus hoffmanni and Bradypus infusatcus, infected with L. braziliensis and in the porcupine, Coendou rothschildi, infected with L. hertigi. Suggestive skin alterations were encountered in 10 (4%) of infected animals. Only 15 (7%) of infected animals exhibited typical leishmanial lesions. It was possible to correlate skin depigmentation with the course of leishmanial infection in one animal, a young kinkajou, Potos flavus.

Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 71 , Issue 1 , August 1975 , pp. 87 - 92
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1975

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