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Leishmaniasis - Entering Germany
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This study has provided evidence for the natural occurrence of sand flies in Germany. Two species belonging to the genus Phlebotomus were detected. Ph. perniciosus, a proven vector of leishmaniasis, wasfound associated with an autochthonous case ofcanine leishma-niasis near Kaiserslautern. One hundred and twentyone specimens of Ph. mascittii were caught in twelve different locations in Baden-Württemberg. The most northerly town in which Ph. mascittii was detected was Baden-Baden. Ph. mascittii has not yet been confirmed as a vector of leishmaniasis but its competence is strongly suspected. In addition to the detection of the vec-tor, since 1991 there have been eleven cases of leishmaniasis in Germany, in which an autochthonous origin was confirmed or which was highly likely to have been of an indigenous origin. Current data from the German meteorological Service indicates that Germany currently has a Mediterranean climate with the yearly average temperature exceeding 10°C having been reached or exceeded in several regions. This type of climate is also appropriate for the living conditions of sand flies. Therefore it is assumed, that sand flies have a greater geographica} distributi-on in Germany than thefirst investigations indicated, which were restricted to the southern region of Baden-Württemberg. The risk of an autochthonous canine infection in Germany occurring is very low. With the rapidly increasing number of imported cases of leishma-niasis in dogs, veterinary advice to dog owners on Prophylaxis requires special attention. The results indicate that the use of repellents and preventive behavioural measures are vital.
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... In Southwest Asia the distribution of Phlebotomus papatasi is highly dependent on temperature and relative humidity (Cross and Hyams 1996). According to Naucke (2007) and Lozán et al. (2008) the annual mean temperature of at least 10°C is considered to be suitable for the vector. P. papatasi prefer the areas where the mean minimum temperature is at least 16°C and mean maximum temperature doesn't exceed 44°C from May to October . ...
... 3″ N ( Bremgarten , Naucke and Pesson 2000 ) to 48°44′42 . 2″ N ( Baden - Baden , Naucke 2007 ) and recently to 50°19′41 . 2″ N ( Cochem ) . ...
This study has provided evidence for the natural occurrence of sandflies in Germany. Two species belonging to the genus Phlebotomus were detected. Phlebotomus (Larroussius) perniciosus, a proven vector of leishmaniasis, was found in association with an autochthonous case of canine leishmaniasis near Kaiserslautern. Two hundred thirty-seven specimens of Phlebotomus (Transphlebotomus) mascittii were caught in 17 different locations in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The northernmost finding in Germany (and Europe) was near Cochem (Moselle). P. mascittii has not yet been confirmed as a vector of leishmaniasis, but its competence is strongly suspected. In addition to the detection of the vector, since 1991, there have been 11 cases of leishmaniasis in Germany in which an autochthonous origin was confirmed or which were highly likely to have been of indigenous origin. Data from the German meteorological service indicate that Germany currently has a Mediterranean climate, with an annual average temperature of 10 degrees C being reached or exceeded in several regions. This type of climate is also appropriate for the living conditions of sandflies. Therefore, it is assumed that sandflies have a greater geographical distribution in Germany than the first studies suggested, being mainly restricted to the southern region of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The risk of an autochthonous canine infection occurring in Germany is very low. The rapidly increasing number of imported cases of leishmaniasis in dogs means that special attention must be focused on veterinary advice to dog owners about prophylaxis. The results indicate that the use of repellents and preventive behavioural measures is vital.
... Die internationale Vergabe streunender Tiere sowie die steigende Reisetätigkeit der Menschen gemeinsam mit ihren Haustieren führt in Europa zu einem regen Austausch von Haustieren und ihren Parasiten als unerwünschte Mitbringsel (Mettler et al., 2005;Naucke, 2007;Leschnik et al., 2008). Letztere können in ihren neuen Habitaten auf geeignete Bedingungen treffen und sich dort als autochthone Parasitenpopulation etablieren (Derraik, 2006). ...
A recent increase in the occurrence of Dirofilaria repens and Dirofilaria immitis has been reported from the eastern neighbouring countries of Austria (Slovakia, Hungary). In order to obtain data from Austria--especially from the areas bordering these countries--blood samples of dogs from Gänserndorf (northeastern Austria, bordering Slovakia) and Neusiedl (eastern Austria, bordering Hungary) were examined for the presence of Dirofilaria spp.-DNA by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). For D. repens one (out of eight) and six (out of ninety) positive dogs were found, respectively. D. immitis-DNA was not detected. Most of the positive dogs had previously been abroad in known Dirofilaria endemic areas. Two dogs, however, had never been abroad and presumably became infected in Austria. To investigate an autochthonous focus, 1366 mosquitoes from the eastern part of Austria were also examined by qPCR. Although positive mosquitoes could not be found, an emerging endemic occurrence of D. repens in Austria due to positive dogs seems possible.
A Leishmaniasis az egyik legfontosabb, jelenleg gyorsan emelkedő esetszámot mutató, ízeltlábú vektorok által terjesztett betegségcsoport a Földön. A bántalmat okozó egysejtű paraziták átviteléért felelős lepkeszúnyog-fajok (Phlebotomus spp.) jelenlegi geográfiai
elterjedését a mérsékelt égöv alatt a téli minimum hőmérsékletek limitálják. Ugyanakkor a városi hősziget-effektus, az épületek hő-emissziója a hőhidakban vagy a jövőben várhatóan melegedő éghajlat a klímaváltozás következményeként megfelelő környezetet teremthet a Phlebotomus fajok megtelepedéséhez e régiókban is. Jelen cikkünk részben korábbi vizsgálatainkon alapul, melyekben a hőhidak, a városi hősziget-effektus és a klímaváltozás, egyes mediterrán dísznövények és a legfontosabb lepkeszúnyog fajok vagy a klímaváltozás hatására módosuló lepkeszúnyog elterjedési területeket modelleztük. Vizsgálataink során kimutattuk, hogy a hőhidak hőmérséklete 3–7 °C-kal magasabb lehet, mint a levegőhőmérséklet az azonos időpontokban, továbbá az antropogén hőemisszió mellett is a jelenben hőszennyezett, de nem fűtött épületekben vagy természetes üregekben van mód a honos lepkeszúnyog fajok áttelelésére Magyarországon. A városi hőszigethatás kézenfekvő magyarázatot adhat arra, hogy a Phlebotomus ariasi legészakabbi előfordulása miért éppen Párizs, a Phlebotomus neglectus elterjedése pedig miért Budapest agglomerációjában
található Európában.
Leishmaniasis is one of the most important emerging vector-borne diseases in Western Eurasia. Although winter minimum temperatures limit the present geographical distribution of the vector Phlebotomus species, the heat island effect of the cities and the anthropogenic heat emission together may provide the appropriate environment for the overwintering of sand flies. We studied the climate tempering effect of thermal bridges and the heat island effect in Budapest, Hungary. Thermal imaging was used to measure the heat surplus of heat bridges. The winter heat island effect of the city was evaluated by numerical analysis of the measurements of the Aqua sensor of satellite Terra. We found that the surface temperature of thermal bridges can be at least 3-7 °C higher than the surrounding environment. The heat emission of thermal bridges and the urban heat island effect together can cause at least 10 °C higher minimum ambient temperature in winter nights than the minimum temperature of the peri-urban areas. This milder micro-climate of the built environment can enable the potential overwintering of some important European Phlebotomus species. The anthropogenic heat emission of big cities may explain the observed isolated northward populations of Phlebotomus ariasi in Paris and Phlebotomus neglectus in the agglomeration of Budapest.
Although being typical Mediterranean faunal elements, phlebotomine sandflies have also been recorded in central Europe for several countries including Germany, where two species, Phlebotomus mascittii and Phlebotomus perniciosus, occur. In Europe, P. mascittii is the northernmostly distributed phlebotomine species. While P. perniciosus is a proven vector of leishmaniasis as well as various sandfly fever causing phleboviruses, the situation for P. mascittii is different. For this species, vector competence could not be proven yet, but is strongly suspected. During an entomological survey in July 2013, one female sandfly was caught in Giessen in the German state of Hesse. Adjacent to the collection site, different potential habitats could be found. Morphological examination of the cibarium, pharynx, and genitalia revealed the specimen as P. mascittii. This is the first reported occurrence for Hesse, and not only the northernmost documented occurrence for P. mascittii, but also of the whole subfamily in the Palearctic region. New records of proven or suspected vectors are of medical relevance because of potential Leishmania and/or Phlebovirus transmission and the awareness therefore in the public.
Nicht-vektorassoziierte Übertragung der caninen Leishmaniose in Deutschland
Around 20,000 Leishmania-infected dogs are already living in Germany. Increasing numbers of dogs are becoming infected as a result of travelling to endemic areas, or being imported from these regions. Besides the wellknown and epidemiologically most significant transmission of the pathogen by sandflies, venereal transmission by pathogen-containing semen and/or trans/-diaplacental transmission of Leishmania infantum from infected bitches to the puppies have been increasingly discussed. Based on a recent case report of a naturally infected bitch and her offspring, this article discusses the implications of a possible pathogen transmission in absence of the invertebrate vector in Germany.
The purpose of the present study was based upon the first diagnosed bovine cutaneous leishmaniasis in a cow in Switzerland in April 2009. We continued descriptively the search for other bovine cases in Switzerland. We carried out similar investigations in the original farm where the case had occurred, and in parallel also in the neighboring farm. Additionally, veterinary practitioners sent us an overall of 12 suspected cases of bovine leishmaniasis. Following diagnostic investigations, all cases were negative for Leishmania. The occurrence of this infection appears therefore to be a very rare event. Finally some differential diagnoses are discussed.
Climate change is expected to manifest in the shift of organisms to regions where they were not present in the past, potentially entailing previously unseen biological risks. However, studies evaluating these future trends are scarce. Here, an important group of vectors (sandflies) and the pathogen transmitted (Leishmania infantum complex) causing the infectious disease visceral leishmaniasis is investigated, focussing on potential establishment in Germany during the 21st century. As the most important habitat factor, temperature requirements of pathogen and vector were derived from the literature and compared with recent climate records - provided by worldclim - and climate change scenarios. Climate data from the Regional Climate Model REMO were obtained and averaged over the time periods 2011- 2040, 2041-2070 and 2071-2100. Projected temperature changes (based on the A1B and A2 scenarios) were correlated with the constraints of vector and pathogen. Simulated potentially suitable habitat areas for vector and pathogen were merged to generate a temperature-derived risk map of visceral leishmaniasis. Temperature conditions seem to become suitable for the vector across large swaths of Germany. Nevertheless, temperature constraints for the pathogen may defer the establishment of the parasitic disease, particularly during the first half of the 21st century. Long-lasting epidemics of visceral leishmaniasis are therefore not expected in Germany during the next few decades, although during extremely warm years an increase in autochthonous cases of leishmaniasis may occur. The southwest (Upper Rhine Valley) and west (Cologne Bight) of Germany are identified as risk areas. The time of potential establishment and corresponding rise in biological risk varies between scenarios, due to differences in the predicted rate of temperature increase.
During an entomology survey in July 1999, one male and three female Phlebotomus (Transphlebotomus) mascittii were caught in southwestern Baden Württemberg. This is the first record of phlebotomine sandflies in Germany.
We describe a case of visceral leishmaniasis in a 15-month-old German child. Diagnosis was significantly delayed because the
patient had no history of travel to known endemic areas. Congenital or blood transfusion-associated leishmaniasis was ruled
out. Possible modes of transmission (including a potential new autochthonous focus of the disease in central Europe) are discussed.
A comparative molecular study was performed on the three species of Phlebotomine sandflies belonging to the subgenus Transphlebotomus Artemiev whose morphological differentiation is difficult. All three species have been suspected, but never proven, to be vectors of Leishmania infantum. The ND4 gene from mtDNA was sequenced from specimens of five populations of Phlebotomus mascittii Grassi from Belgium (the first records of Phlebotomine sandflies from this country), France, and Germany. Additionally, specimens from one population of Lebanese P. canaaniticus Adler and Theodor and of one population of Cypriot P. economidesi Leger, Depaquit and Ferte topotypes were examined. The results reveal the validity of the three taxa inferred from molecular variation and a molecular homogeneity shared by all of the populations of P. mascittii included into the present study. The epidemiological consequences are discussed.
This report describes a case of cutaneous leishmaniosis in a horse in southern Germany. Diagnosis is based on histopathology, immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. The protozoan was identified as Leishmania infantum via PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism. The horse did not show specific Leishmania antibodies. The lesions healed completely within 6 months without any specific treatment. Since neither the infected horse nor its dam had ever left their rural area, autochthonous infection in Germany cannot be excluded. Factors possibly influencing the epidemiological situation are discussed.
The efficacy of the repellent IR3535 was tested and compared with DEET using two laboratory colonies of phlebotomine sand flies, Phlebotomus mascittii and Phlebotomus duboscqi. P. duboscqi, originating from Senegal, is a proven vector of Leishmania major. P. mascittii (Corsican origin) has never been demonstrated to be a vector of leishmaniasis, but it was reported in 2004 as an anthropophilic species in Germany associated with autochthonous visceral leishmaniasis in people and animals. IR3535 and DEET were tested at an effective concentration of 10% in ethanol on two (one male, one female) human volunteers. The mean protection time against P. duboscqi was 5.9h for both repellents, against P. mascittii 10.4 and 8.8 h for IR3535 and DEET, respectively.