ABSTRACT
Malaria and dengue fever are among the most common mosquito-borne diseases worldwide; however, reports of coinfection are rare. We present a case of severe malaria and dengue coinfection in a 16-yearold female patient presenting with fever, thrombocytopenia, pleural effusion, myopericarditis, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Dengue infection was confirmed by the presence of immunoglobin M antibodies and nonstructural protein 1, while malaria was confirmed by the presence of Plasmodium vivax in thick and thin blood smears. This is the first report of a dengue/malaria coinfection in Mexico.
Subject(s)
Coinfection , Communicable Diseases , Dengue Virus , Dengue , Malaria, Vivax , Malaria , Animals , Humans , Female , Adolescent , Plasmodium vivax , Coinfection/diagnosis , Mexico , Dengue/complications , Dengue/diagnosis , Malaria, Vivax/complications , Malaria, Vivax/diagnosisABSTRACT
The deer ked Lipoptena mazamae (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) (Róndani), is a blood-feeding obligate ectoparasite of several species of deer and brocket. However, at present little information is available about its role as a vector of hemoparasites. Nonetheless, it is considered a competent vector for the transmission of Bartonella species. The aim of this study was performing the morphological and molecular identification of ked flies and to carry out the detection of Bartonella. We collected specimens from Chiná, Campeche, Mexico associated with white-tailed deer. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), of COI, gltA and rpoB genes, we were able to obtain the first barcode for L. mazamae from Mexico and identified a new species of Bartonella which was found with a prevalence of 73%. The data obtained in this study confirmed the presence of L. mazamae associated with white-tailed deer and its possible role as vector of Candidatus Bartonella odocoilei n. sp. in Mexico and we considered that it may also be present in white-tailed deer populations in the U.S.A. Additional investigations into Bartonella species associated with deer ked could provide further insight into their pathogenicity and its role as a zoonotic agent.
