Survey of Wild Mammal Hosts of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Parasites in Panamá and Costa Rica

ABSTRACT

The eco-epidemiology of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is driven by animal reservoir species that are a source of infection for sand flies that serve as vectors infecting humans with <i>Leishmania</i> spp parasites. The emergence and re-emergence of this disease across Latin America calls for further studies to identify reservoir species associated with enzootic transmission. Here, we present results from a survey of 52 individuals from 13 wild mammal species at endemic sites in Costa Rica and Panama where ACL mammal hosts have not been previously studied. For <i>Leishmania</i> spp. diagnostics we employed a novel PCR technique using blood samples collected on filter paper. We only found <i>Leishmania</i> spp parasites in one host, the two-toed sloth, <i>Choloepus hoffmanni</i>. Our findings add further support to the role of two-toed sloths as an important ACL reservoir in Central America.