New records of Mansonella ozzardi: a parasite that is spreading from the state of Amazonas to previously uninfected areas of the state of Acre in the Purus River region

ABSTRACT

Mansonella ozzardi infections are common in the riverside communities along the Solimões, Negro and Purus Rivers in the state of Amazonas (AM). However, little is known about the presence of this parasite in communities located in regions bordering AM and the state of Acre. The prevalence rate of M. ozzardi infections was determined in blood samples from volunteers according to the Knott method. A total of 355 volunteers from six riverine communities were enrolled in the study and 65 (18.3%) were found to be infected with M. ozzardi. As expected, most of the infections (25%) occurred in individuals involved in agriculture, cattle rearing and fishing and an age/sex group analysis revealed that the prevalence increased beginning in the 40-50-years-of-age group and reached 33% in both sexes in individuals over 50 years of age. Based on the described symptomatology, articular pain and headache were found to be significantly higher among infected individuals (56 and 65% prevalence, respectively, p < 0.05). Sera from volunteers were subjected to ELISA using a cocktail of recombinant proteins from Onchocerca volvulus to evaluate the specificity of the test in an endemic M. ozzardi region. No cross-reactions between M. ozzardi-infected individuals and recombinant O. volvulus proteins were detected, thus providing information on the secure use of this particular cocktail in areas where these parasites are sympatric.